According to the IDF, special units from Duvdevan, the Yamam counterterrorism unit and the Shin Bet internal security agency entered Qabatiya overnight to arrest a wanted Palestinian. The suspect attempted to flee and opened fire at troops, who returned fire and killed him. His body was removed from the scene.
In a separate operation in the town, forces arrested a second suspect and seized an M-16 rifle, the IDF said.
Palestinian media reported exchanges of gunfire between the suspect and Israeli forces, as well as damage to a building where the first suspect had been hiding. Locals claimed the building was destroyed by troops.
The raid came weeks after a broader counterterrorism sweep in which Israeli forces arrested 70 suspects across the West Bank, including three in Qabatiya who were accused of planning attacks on Israeli soldiers. At the time, the IDF said troops had uncovered improvised explosive devices, dismantled a bomb-making lab in the village of A-Ram near Ramallah and seized large quantities of weapons and cash allegedly earmarked for terror activity.
