A terrorist opened fire on the Jewish community in the West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday, the IDF said. No injuries were reported, and no damage was caused.
No injuries were reported, and no damage was caused, but IDF troops have begun searching the area for additional terrorists.
A Palestinian terrorist opened fire on a Jewish neighborhood in Hebron from a Muslim cemetery.No place is sacred to these extremists. pic.twitter.com/VXjtkCumUB
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) March 16, 2024
Palestinian media sources identified the shooter as Sheikh Mahmoud Nofal, the imam (a Muslim priest) of Hebron’s al-Qassem Mosque.
Video shows suspected shooter firing from a cemetery
Walla shared a video of the incident that appeared to show the terrorist shooting from within a cemetery complex.
Several Palestinians in the vicinity at the time were reportedly detained for questioning under suspicion of possible involvement in the attack, which came after the first Friday of Ramadan.
Later, the IDF announced that soldiers had raided Nofal’s home. Maj. Israel, company commander of the 92nd Brigade, recounted the events in an interview.
“Saturday, at around noon, we heard a burst of gunfire. Word came through from the main gate that an active shooter was in the area, and an emergency security team ran out of the base. We then located a terrorist shooting from a [cemetery] area,” he said. “
A squad led by one of the division commanders went to the left and provided suppressing fire. We went to the right and surrounded the terrorist. After neutralizing him, we isolated the area and searched for other threats. We quickly realized that there was only a single threat, and thank God, none of our forces or civilians were harmed.”