Shalev Zevuloni, 22, was killed in a combined shooting and stabbing attack at the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank.
The terrorists were neutralized at the scene.
The two Palestinians who carried out the attack were Palestinian Authority police officers Mahmoud Yusef Abed and Malek Ibrahim Salem. They recently returned to the West Bank after completing their studies in Qatar, according to Palestinian media reports.
Eyewitnesses said that the terrorists arrived in a stolen car at the shopping center and stabbed Zevuloni, a security guard, outside the Rami Levi supermarket. The assailants then snatched the guard’s handgun and exchanged fire with a soldier and an armed civilian before being killed.
Following the attack, the IDF blocked the entrances to Hebron and Bethlehem and established roadblocks in the area.
Asst.-Ch. Moshe Finchi of the Israel Police thanked the security forces for their quick action in neutralizing the terrorists.
“Thanks to your vigilance, determination, and contact approach, you ended the event quickly, preventing a larger disaster,” he said.
After the incident, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in Washington, spoke with Gush Etzion Regional Council head Yaron Rosenthal to express his support and condolences.
“The prime minister praised the citizens and the security forces personnel who acted very resourcefully in eliminating the vile terrorists, saying that we will not allow terrorism in Judea and Samaria to rear its head,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Dovi Shefler, head of the Efrat Council, called on the government to apply full sovereignty, take determined preventive measures, and restore deterrence in Judea and Samaria.
“The murderous attack today at the Gush junction, in the heart of a civilian area used by all the residents of the region, highlights how much our call for a significant force attack in Area A in Judea and Samaria, exactly as was done in Gaza and Lebanon, is necessary to eliminate Arab terror and restore full security to all residents of Israel,” he said.
Hamas called to intensify the attacks in the West Bank
Abu Obaida, spokesperson for the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, issued a statement on Telegram calling for “ intensified resistance” across the West Bank and Jerusalem after the attack.
He congratulated the terrorists on their “heroic operations from Hebron to Jenin, confronting Israeli forces and settler groups,” adding that they were retaliating against the “growing assault on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the escalation of crimes by the occupation forces and settlers.”