Palestinian Attacker Kills Israeli in West Bank, is Neutralized by IDF

A Palestinian attacker on Thursday morning stabbed and seriously wounded a 20-year-old Israeli man near the village of Ozrin in the West Bank. The victim was treated at the scene by MDA paramedics and IDF medical personnel before being evacuated to Beilinson Hospital.

According to reports, the assailant arrived by car, approached a Ranger vehicle occupied by the victim at the Ma'oz Yehuda outpost in Area B, and stabbed him before fleeing. IDF forces, including the Duvdevan unit and the Nachal reconnaissance battalion, launched a manhunt, imposing a lockdown on nearby villages. They located the attacker's vehicle near a house in the village of Qabalan.

When soldiers entered the house to conduct a search, the assailant attempted to stab them at close range. A commander from the 411th Battalion then shot and killed the attacker.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the soldiers who "hunted down and eliminated the terrorist" and vowed to "continue to eliminate terrorists, pursue their senders, and destroy the infrastructure of terrorism in Judea and Samaria." He added that "anyone who tries to threaten the State of Israel and its citizens will pay a heavy price."

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant outlined comprehensive plans to combat terrorism in the territories, stating, "Our policy in Judea and Samaria is clear: to vigorously pursue Palestinian terrorism, to develop and strengthen Jewish settlement, and to maintain security stability." He asserted that terrorism in the West Bank is at its lowest level in decades and pledged to take all necessary steps to prevent its resurgence, including eliminating senior figures, evacuating residents from areas where attacks originate, destroying terrorist infrastructure, and maintaining an IDF presence in evacuated areas, "exactly as we did in the security zones in Gaza and Lebanon."

Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, called for a broad military operation, including house-to-house searches for weapons and the dismantling of terrorist support infrastructure.