IDF kills Palestinian security force member in Kalkilya firefight

Paratroopers reconnaissance unit responds to fire from gunmen during operation to seize arms and carry out security searches.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Israeli soldier in West Bank town of Dura 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Israeli soldier in West Bank town of Dura 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A Palestinian gunman was killed early on Thursday morning in an exchange of fire with the IDF, during a security operation in Kalkilya.
The gunman was a member of the Palestinian security forces. He was known to security forces for his role in a Fatah-Tanzim terrorist cell, that carried out shooting attacks on the IDF in recent past, the source added.
Security sources said the operation, in which a paratroop reconnaissance battalion entered the West Bank city, was aimed at seizing arms and carrying out security searches, stressing that Kalkilya has become the scene of regular shooting attacks on the IDF.
“We went in to catch these shooters,” an army source told The Jerusalem Post. “As soon as we were in, the shooting began.”
“We’re ready for this, and our job is to be on the front lines, so that this violence does not get to roads or other areas used by civilians,” the source added.
Subsequent searches of the area uncovered a Jericho handgun, which soldiers seized.
Jericho handgun found at the scene in Kalkilya. (Courtesy IDF)
Jericho handgun found at the scene in Kalkilya. (Courtesy IDF)
On Wednesday night, an exchange of fire between Palestinian gunmen and the IDF in Jenin left a Hamas member dead. He was known to IDF intelligence for throwing explosives at security forces in the past, a security source said.
The army was not drawing any direct connections between the firefights in Kalkilya and Jenin over the previous 12 hours.
In Jenin, too, army forces sent to carry out routine security missions have faced live fire in recent months. In Wednesday’s incident, Palestinians also attacked the elite counterterrorism unit with improvised grenades and Molotov cocktails, according to military sources.
The soldiers responded with live fire after assessing that their lives were in danger, the sources said.
The counterterrorism unit was attempting to arrest an Islamic Jihad member, but as a result of the clashes, it left Jenin empty handed.
There were no injuries among security forces in either incident.