Israeli forces kill Palestinian shooter in counter-terror raid; terrorist killed two Israeli brothers last week

The Palestinian terrorist who murdered two Israeli brothers as they drove through the village of Huwara on Highway 60 last week, was killed in an Israeli raid in Jenin on Tuesday.  

The terrorist was identified as 49-year-old Abd al-Fattah Hussein Ibrahim Gharusha, an operative of the Hamas terrorist group. He recently was released from Israeli prison, after serving eight months for conspiracy to plan a terror attack, according to The Jerusalem Post. 

Gharusha’s two sons are suspected of assisting him in planning the attack and were apprehended by Israeli forces in the city of Nablus. 

The joint arrest operation by the Israel Defense Forces, Shin Bet (Israeli Security Agency) and the Israeli Border Police took place in broad daylight, an usual time of day as most arrest raids conducted at night. 

The suspect was barricaded inside a building with armed operatives, who began to fire heavily upon the Israeli forces as they approached. Forces responded to the attack with live fire.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health claimed six Palestinians died during the raid and 26 injured, with two Israeli counter-terrorism officers were injured during the raid.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended counter-terrorism forces for eliminating the “abominable terrorist” who murdered the 22-year-old Hillel and 20-year-old Yagel Yaniv in cold blood last week. 

“Our brave warriors operated surgically in the heart of the murderers’ den. I praise them and send recovery wishes to the wounded from among our forces,” he said.

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a briefing that “Israel has the legitimate right to defend its people and its territory against all forms of aggression, including those from terrorist groups.”

“We have seen far too many vivid demonstrations of the terrorist threat that Israel faces in recent days,” he said, adding that the Biden administration is “deeply concerned by the sharp rise in violence in the West Bank.” He said that the U.S. urges both Israelis and Palestinians to “take immediate steps to prevent the further loss of life.”

By contrast, Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the raid, warning that it will lead to “further deterioration and extend the cycle of violence.” They called on Israel to immediately stop all raids against Palestinians and urged for the implementation of the “two-state solution.” 

The Gaza-based terror organization Hamas issued a statement in response to the Israeli operation: “The crimes and massacres of the occupation [an enemy reference to Israel] will not frighten our people, but rather will increase their determination and strength in confronting the occupation and its settler militia."