Terrorist Attack Leaves One Israeli Dead in West Bank, IDF Manhunt Underway for Killers
Error: Contact form not found.
by Troy O. Fritzhand
Israeli troops guard, at the scene of a shooting, near Hebron, in the West Bank, August 21, 2023. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
A 29-year-old Israeli man was shot and killed by Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank near the town of Bayt Lid on Wednesday, Israel’s emergency response service Magen David Adom announced.
“The driver of the car, a man in his 30s, was unconscious, without a pulse, not breathing, and with [gunshot] wounds. We performed medical tests and after a short while we had to declare his death,” the emergency response group said.
The victim has been identified as Elhanan Klein from Einav, an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank. He is survived by a wife and their three kids.
The terrorists were able to escape, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is searching for them as of this writing.
The attack is the first successful one by Palestinian terrorists against Israelis driving in the West Bank since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7.
This year has been particularly dangerous for Israelis on the roads near Palestinian villages — 12 Israelis have been gunned down on the roads in the West Bank since February.
“Only yesterday we asked to close the road from Nablus, and in the name of inclusivity they did not comply. We must treat terrorists here like we do in Gaza,” said Yossi Dagan, who leads the Samaria Regional Council — an Israeli group in the northern West Bank — in response to Thursday’s attack. “I say clearly: I and the residents of Samaria stand behind the IDF and the government, and we are part of this war.”
The car of the driver was found overturned on the side of the road. At this point authorities appear to believe the attack was carried out by motorcyclists.
Troy O. Fritzhand, who goes by Osher in Hebrew, is a Jerusalem-based journalist covering Israeli politics, culture, and technology. An immigrant from New York, Troy is an entrepreneur and Hebrew thinker who helps oversee the start-up ecosystem in Jerusalem with Made in JLM. You can learn more about him at troyfritzhand.com. He previously served as the Politics and Knesset reporter at The Jerusalem Post and has been published in Jewish News Syndicate (JNS).
