Israelis Killed in West Bank Shooting
As of May 30, security forces are conducting a manhunt to catch the terrorist near the West Bank northern settlement of Hermesh.
BY Livingway Mission PUBLISHED: 07/02/2023 UPDATED: 07/02/2023
Meir Tamari with his wife and two children
Palestinian terrorists killed 32-year-old Hermesh resident Meir Tamari in a gun attack near the northern West Bank settlement on Tuesday, May 30.
Tamari was initially seriously injured in the attack, Magen David Adom (מָגֵן דָּוִד אָדֹם) said paramedics worked with IDF medical staff to treat gunshot wounds to his chest and shoulder on the spot.
He was rushed to Hadera's Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in critical condition and the Medical Center reported him dead. He was married and the father of two young children.
The mother of Tamari's wife, Tali, is the second wife of Binyamin Horgen, who lost his first wife, Esther Horgen, in a terrorist attack in the Reihan Forest, north of Hermesh, in 2020.
A group of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, linked to Fatah, took credit for the attack and suspected the terrorists were hiding in the Jenin area.
The terrorist group also sent messages to Palestinians in the area to delete security video camera footage to prevent Israeli security forces from tracking the perpetrator's movements.
Security forces launched an almost immediate search to catch the terrorists as the IDF erected additional checkpoints to limit the terrorist group's ability to maneuver.
There was some controversy from local Israeli leaders who claimed that the incident could have been avoided had the nearby checkpoint not been abandoned. The IDF, on the other hand, said the checkpoints would make little difference as the shots were fired using a drive-by shooting tactic.
Even after the incident, the IDF said it had increased its presence in the general area and had no plans to add troops to deploy around the clock at specific checkpoints, although nearby units could quickly deploy the checkpoints in question if needed. Local Israeli leaders want to be strengthened.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he received a security update on the situation early Tuesday afternoon and will hold further, more extensive meetings with top defense officials in the coming hours.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered his condolences to the Tamari family on Tuesday afternoon and said, "Our forces are currently in pursuit of the terrorists in order to settle accounts with them, and they will be settled forthwith. Just as we have found every terrorist and closed accounts with them, we will do so this time as well.”
Dimiter Tzantchev, EU Ambassador to Israel, tweeted: "I'm shocked and saddened by yet another shooting attack in the West Bank, which killed an Israeli father of two. Sending deepest condolences to his family. I condemn this cowardly and brutal act of violence! We stand together against terrorism, which needs to be rejected by all.”
IDF-Palestinian conflict in Israel's West Bank
There have been several attempted terrorist attacks or disputes between the IDF and the Palestinians in the West Bank in recent days.
From a broader perspective, there has been a series of Palestinian terror attacks against Israel since March 2022, with the IDF engaging in near-night raids on suspected Palestinian terrorists from mid-spring 2022.
Although terrorism activity has declined several times, particularly towards the end of 2022, the IDF has so far failed to stabilize the situation in the West Bank.