A team of Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) agents, Israel Police and IDF soldiers engaged in a firefight with a wanted Palestinian Authority fugitive who began shooting when they came to arrest him at his home in the village of Nabi Saleh.
Aamer Ahmad Khalil, 34, opened fire at the forces with a homemade assault rifle. “In response to the immediate threat, forces fired towards the attacker, resulting in his death,” the Israel Police spokesperson said. A second suspect who was with Khalil was slightly injured.
Khalil was responsible for two shooting attacks on Saturday: one near Ateret in Samaria and the second on Saturday night near Nabi Saleh, where shots were heard near an IDF guard post. No injuries or damage were reported in the second attack, but Israeli forces found two bullet shell casings at the scene.
Shots were fired earlier in the day at an Israeli driver traveling near the Jewish community of Ateret, also in Samaria. One person was slightly injured and received treatment at the scene.
“This proves once again that there is no shelter for anyone involved in harming civilians and security forces. The long arm of Israeli security forces, operating in cooperation, will track down anyone who engages or intends to engage in terror,” said Israeli security agencies in a joint statement. “This is at the forefront of the country’s security activity, which remains largely secret, and far from the eyes of the Israeli public,” the Shin Bet said in its statement.