UPDATE: A second Israeli fatality has been announced in this terror attack near Havat Gilad. The fatalities in this attack were Benayahu Melet, of blessed memory, and Maj. Yuval Ezra, 27, from Herzliya.
Peloni: Speculation is being raised online that the cause of this attack was due to fears of being arrested by the armed security forces if they had opened fire to disperse the Arab mob. This, in turn, led to the security team having to confront the terrorists directly which is when the Arab mob disarmed the security officer and was then able to carry out the terror attack.
Civilian and soldier were wounded in separate attacks earlier Thursday
| All Israel News | Published: July 24, 2026
Moment that a rifle was pulled from the arms of a civilian security officer while confronting an Arab mob attacking Jewish hikers in Shomron. Screengrab via Social Media
An Israeli was killed, and three others were wounded when a terrorist opened fire with a weapon stolen from a security man in the area near Havat Gilad, in the greater Nablus area, early on Friday morning.
According to the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry, four Palestinians, including the terrorist, were killed and four others were wounded in the subsequent exchange of fire.
The shooting came after three stabbing attacks on Thursday, in which an Israeli soldier and a civilian were wounded. It also occurred near Havat Gilad, where a large-scale fire destroyed dozens of homes last weekend. Residents have accused local Palestinians of committing arson as an act of terrorism. Police arrested two suspects, though only on suspicion of causing the fire without intent.
Amid heightened tensions between Jewish and Palestinian residents, several Israeli civilians went hiking without coordination with the military near the Palestinian village of Tell, which includes areas where entry to Israelis is forbidden under Israeli law, according to an initial IDF investigation cited by Army Radio.
The IDF said it views the failure to coordinate the hike with great seriousness: “Not everyone can do whatever they want.”
The group was approached by dozens of locals on the outskirts of the village, and violent scuffles broke out between the groups. Members of the civilian emergency response squad, including the victim, and IDF troops rushed to the scene to help them.
The scuffles continued, and during the clashes, several Palestinians seized the weapon of one of the emergency squad members, and an exchange of fire broke out, killing one Israeli and seriously wounding two others. A fourth was lightly wounded.
The military noted that the four Palestinians who were killed included at least two of those who seized the weapon, including the shooter.
“Additional IDF soldiers were dispatched to the scene and are currently pursuing the terrorists while establishing security roadblocks in the area. A temporary cordon was imposed on the city of Nablus and the Tell area,” the Israeli military said.
It later added that soldiers recovered the stolen weapon and returned it to its owner. The military assesses that the attack began as a “spontaneous” attack rather than a pre-planned operation, according to Army Radio: “In recent months, there has been a significant increase in these kinds of friction incidents,” an IDF official said. “Most occur inside Palestinian villages, particularly on their outskirts, in areas with many outposts and farms.”
The Israeli military says it has launched a manhunt for several Palestinians involved in the deadly shooting incident near the West Bank village of Tell.
According to the IDF, troops were dispatched to an area adjacent to Tell after Israeli settlers reported being attacked while…
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 24, 2026
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would meet with the defense minister and the IDF chief on Friday to discuss ways to respond to the series of attacks. “We will act with full force against the terrorists and those who dispatch them, and we will not allow terrorism in Judea and Samaria to rear its head,” he stated.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the settlement movement’s main political party, Religious Zionism, sent his “heartfelt condolences to the family of the victim,” while demanding the IDF “act with a firm hand against the terrorists’ village and its surroundings, and to restore governance and deterrence.”
“We must not normalize the erosion of deterrence and the growing boldness of our enemies in recent weeks toward the pioneers of the settlements and the farms,” he said.
“The people of the farms and the courageous pioneers of the settlement movement are the defensive shield of the State of Israel. We will continue to strengthen and honor them for their steadfast commitment to our existence in the Land of Israel in the face of Arab terrorism.”
The head of the Yesha Council, Israel Ganz, also demanded drastic action.
Gantz noted, “The area is on fire – literally and figuratively. The wave of arson attacks, attempted terrorist attacks, and the Palestinian Authority’s ongoing incitement are all part of a single campaign aimed at harming the settlement movement and the citizens of Israel.”
“Judea and Samaria is not a secondary arena. It is a central front for the State of Israel, and policy here must change accordingly: launch a broad operation against terrorist strongholds, exact a heavy price from everyone involved in terrorism or incitement, and stop treating these attacks as routine.”
In a first response from the military, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said he instructed the bolstering of forces in the area following the “severe terror attack.” During an assessment, Zamir ordered “a broad reinforcement of forces to strengthen defense in the area and to capture all the terrorists involved in the attack.”
The military told Army Radio that it is also concerned about the possibility of retaliatory attacks by Jews: “There are fumes of fuel in the air—feelings of revenge and the possibility of people heading out to villages and roads. We are focused on ensuring the coming hours remain calm and preventing nationalist hate crimes.”
A senior IDF officer involved in the investigation rejected claims that commanders failed to engage the attackers: “The forces acted well, and their response was swift from the moment the soldiers arrived. This was a skilled force dealing with violence and friction during an uncoordinated hike. They engaged the threat and performed exceptionally,” he told Army Radio.
There had already been three separate terror attacks on Thursday. In the first, “two terrorists attacked and stabbed an Israeli civilian in the area where a fire had broken out adjacent to the community of Itamar,” according to the IDF. Israel Police and the Fire and Rescue Services later stated that the fire was caused by arson.
Israeli settlers had reportedly been working to extinguish the blaze near the Derech Avraham settlement. When a clash erupted with local Palestinians, two of them stabbed an Israeli before being shot and killed. The 51-year-old Israeli sustained serious wounds and was airlifted to a hospital.
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In another incident, a “terrorist stabbed an IDF soldier, who was lightly injured in the Ganim area,” the IDF reported.
The suspect was later identified by Palestinian media as a Palestinian Authority police officer.
“The [Israeli] civilian and the soldier were evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment, and the soldier’s family has been notified. Three terrorists were eliminated,” the military said.
Troops soon raided the terrorists’ homes in the towns of Beit Furik and Tubas. “The IDF will continue to conduct counterterrorism operations and will carry out enforcement activities to enhance the protection and security of residents throughout Judea and Samaria.”
Later on Thursday, Army Radio reported that a third attempted stabbing was prevented when a man from Hebron arrived at the Tunnels Checkpoint on a motorcycle. After arousing suspicion, he resisted arrest, and a knife was found on him during a search.
Time to bring in the bulldozers.
@Sebastian, many thanks for your text by Steven Plaut.
However, the Oslo Accords have been declared dead by the so-called Palestinians themselves, and more recently by Israel too. What leaves all of us puzzled is that Israel, for reasons we don’t yet understand, has been upholding the accords nonetheless. The IDF essentially police Judea and Samaria because the Israeli government has not yet initiated civil control.
We know that the Arab neighbors and the EU all support the Two State Solution, which Israel refuses to accede to, neither should it. However, this situation leaves all of those countries hoping that their political pressure, especially that of Saudi Arabia, will sooner or later be implemented. Of course, all of them remind us incessantly, that Israel already agreed to the TSS. However, the Arabs always refused because that would mean recognizing the State of Israel (one of the two states). They can’t have it both ways, so they prefer the One State Solution where there is no Israel. Actually, what they are demanding is a Three State Solution, because after the first partitioning, we got Jordan and the Mandate of Palestine. Now, they want to partition the mandate yet again.
The part I had intended to bold was the sections on Arab reservations and white and black lists though I think the whole thing remains timely. That’s in no. 7. Before that is just
the preamble.
“ 1. The West Bank belongs to Israel and is Israeli in all ways. No non-Israeli sovereignty of any form will be permitted in the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The West Bank is part of the Jewish national homeland, always was, and always will be.
2. “Palestinian” Arabs living in the West Bank will not receive Israeli citizenship and will not vote in Israeli national elections.
3. The land and resources in the West Bank will remain under Israeli supervision, control, and regulation.
4. “Palestinians” who do not wish to live under Israeli sovereignty will be free to leave. Israel may consider providing financial support, property compensation, or incentives for those so wishing to leave.
5. Most “Palestinians” choosing to remain in the West Bank will live in reservations, in some ways resembling Native-American-Indian territories that function inside the United States (possibly even including casinos), although in some ways they will differ. Reservations will be operated in those parts of the West Bank that have large concentrations of Arab population, meaning Jericho, Nablus, Ramallah, Jenin, Tul Karem, and a few other areas. Reservations will NOT have territorial contiguity. In each reservation, the “Palestinians” will be permitted autonomy and limited self-rule to manage their own local affairs as long as violence is completely absent from the reservation. Where violence is present, they will be denied autonomy. Reservations from which terrorism arises may be shut down and their populations dispersed. Arabs engaging in or supporting terrorism in any way will be deported.
6. “Palestinians” in the West Bank will be considered to be resident aliens within the Jewish state. Many still have Jordanian passports and citizenship and will be considered resident Jordanians. “Palestinians” who do not have Jordanian citizenship will be stateless unless they obtain citizenship from some other country.
7. Jews will have the right to live anywhere they wish in the West Bank outside the reservations assigned to the “Palestinian” Arabs. The territory in the West Bank in which Arabs do not live or live sparsely, and this includes the Jordan Valley and the sparse areas in between the reservations, will be opened to unlimited Jewish settlement.
The villages and towns with the Arab reservations will be assigned to two lists, a white list and a black list. Those in the white list will manage their own affairs without interference from the Israeli central authorities. Residents of white-list towns may hold commuter jobs in Israeli cities and industrial parks. The local authorities in the white areas will manage their schools and other local institutions. They will collect their own taxes and may benefit from revenue sharing arrangements with the Israeli fiscal authorities, like other Israeli towns. They might be allowed to operate their own local police forces. Residents in white-listed areas will be fully and freely mobile, able to move freely within and among all white-list areas. They will be allowed to develop local industry and tourist services. Their residents will have access to Israel universities, health facilities, and other services.
Those towns and villages in the black list will enjoy none of the above. Their residents will be denied the opportunity to hold day jobs in Israeli cities and industrial parks. They will have no access to Israeli services. They will have control over nothing. Their residents will be prevented from moving freely outside their reservation, except in cases where they wish to leave the country altogether. They will receive no shared revenues, no fiscal incentives.
Villages and towns will be assigned to the two lists based entirely on one single factor: violence. Areas in which violence occurs, and this includes rock throwing, will be assigned to the black list. Areas in which violence is absent will be assigned to the white list. Towns and villages will be reassigned to the black list from the white list when terrorism, sniping, mortars, rockets, or other forms of violence occur there. Towns and villages in the black list will be assigned to the white list only when the local population cooperates fully with Israel in apprehending and arresting the terrorists and those engaged in violence, and takes other effective actions to end the violence. Otherwise they will remain on the black list indefinitely. Entry into black list areas will be denied to foreigners, journalists, and especially to the “International Solidarity” anarchists and their ilk. Any such anarchist infiltrating the areas of the black list will be denied permission to leave them and will remain there indefinitely, or else will be imprisoned by Israel.”
Thanks Sebastian. I find this plan to be good but not easy to achieve. Towns and villages on the black list will remain a thorn in our flesh until they move elsewhere. They will remain a thorn forever wherever they go, fomenting libel and violence all over the world. They will never back down and with the freedom in other countries, should they leave us, there will be no or little to restrain them. Those on the white list are on permanent probation. If they do something wrong, they move to the black list. The big question here is if the Israeli government or the IDF will permit appeal on their status at any time. Our wonderful DoJ will likely offer lawyers, paid by the state, to barrage the supreme court with appeals to the point that they are overwhelmed which they are close to all the time anyway.
@dreuveni They could be evacuated to Area A for the time being while voluntary emigration is vigorously facilitated. They must leave Area C, immediately.
@dreuveni That’s just the preamble. The part I was emphasizing that pertains to this article is
the section on Arab reservations, and white and black listed Arab towns differentiated by violence, No. 7 in his platform above, all of which I agree with. I think this is a practical solution. And if the international community wants to call that apartheid, that’s their problem. I bolded the wrong section by mistake.
These Arab terror towns must
simply be quarantined and that’s all there is to it!
@dreuveni
has israel abolished the Oslo accords
@Peloni Post vanished.
https://www.frontpagemag.com/time-annex-judea-and-samaria-steven-plaut/