Israeli Settlers Raid Palestinian Villages After West Bank Shooting Attack Kills Two Soldiers

On Friday afternoon, Benyahu Malt, a member of the IDF's quick response unit, was laid to rest at Gilad Farm after being killed in a shooting attack in the West Bank. The attack also claimed the life of Lt. Col. Yuval Ezra, a 27-year-old artillery battery commander from Herzliya. Both soldiers left behind families and were mourned in separate military funerals.

Following the attack near Gilad Farm, dozens of masked Israeli settlers raided Palestinian villages in the northern West Bank, including approximately 70 entering the village of Sira, where clashes erupted involving stone-throwing and arson. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported three injuries from settler assaults in Sira. Additional footage from the village of Far'ata near Qalqilya showed extensive damage attributed to settler arson targeting vehicles and homes.

The IDF and Shin Bet reported that soldiers from the elite Duvdevan unit arrested two suspects involved in the shooting. The attackers were wounded during the incident and detained in a hospital in Nablus before being transferred for further investigation. Authorities stated that the identities of all perpetrators are known and efforts to apprehend them continue.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz held consultations with security officials and the security cabinet, announcing a series of measures in response to recent terror attacks. These include demolishing the home of the attacker near the village of Tal, intensified operations in terror hotspot villages involving weapon seizures and revoking work permits, increased troop deployments across the West Bank, separation of traffic routes with checkpoints, and accelerating the regulation and establishment of new settlements.

This shooting attack is the third violent incident in the area within 24 hours. The West Bank Division has been on high alert since yesterday. Earlier incidents included a stabbing near Elon Moreh where a settler named Itamar Cohen was injured while helping extinguish a fire, and a separate stabbing attack in northern Samaria where the assailant was killed by IDF forces.