A Palestinian man, during a routine security check of his car at the al-Fawar junction near Hebron in the West Bank, grabbed the M-16 rifle held by one of the Israeli police officers there and dragged the officer along with him until he successfully got hold of the weapon, according to Israel Police.
תיעוד חטיפת האמ 16 משוטר מחוז שי בידי פלסטיני כעת באל פוואר בדרום הר חברון. סריקות נרחבות. pic.twitter.com/3ug1AIiiIA
— Or Heller אור הלר (@OrHeller) June 8, 2022
Security forces were unable to immediately apprehend the man and he ran towards the vicinity of Hebron. His identity is known to Israeli security and he turned himself in to Palestinian security forces. The weapon will be returned to the Israeli military.Israel Police: Traffic police in the southern Hebron Hills pulled over a Palestinian vehicle at the Al-Fawaar junction. The driver grabbed the M16 of one of the officers and drove off, dragging the officer until the weapon was free.
— Anna Ahronheim (@AAhronheim) June 8, 2022
Operation 'Break the Wave'
Israeli security forces, including IDF, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Border Police, arrested 21 terrorism suspects in a number of areas in the West Bank overnight Tuesday, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit announced Wednesday morning.
Israel has been conducting nightly arrest raids at various points in the West Bank for a few weeks now, in light of the latest terror wave.
Specifically, the security forces operated in Mughayir and Ni’lin near Ramallah, Beit Rima, Beit Fajjar near Bethlehem as well as in Bethlehem itself, Beit Dajan and Rujeib near Nablus, al-Fawar near Hebron and a-Ram and Bidu in Jerusalem's north.
Four suspects — identified by Palestinian media as Bilal Talib Abu Bakr, Ahmed Talib Abu Bakr, Nasser Bajawi and Hamouda al-Turkman — were arrested in Jenin and Tulkarem as well as in Yabed. A number of arrests have taken place recently in Yabed and have included the seizure of weapons.
Security forces also arrested two suspects in Balata near Nablus. During the raid, objects were thrown at the soldiers.
Palestinian violence
Molotov cocktails and stones were thrown at Israeli security forces who enter the Palestinian town of Beitunya near Ramallah.
When the security forces entered Aqabat Jaber, a Palestinian refugee camp near Jericho, they were met with about 20 Palestinians who threw Molotov cocktails and stones at them. They responded with crowd dispersal methods.
Bidu and a-Ram fall into the Jerusalem governance of the Palestinian Authority.
Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.