JERUSALEM — The Israeli army said on Wednesday that it raided the Nablus city area in the West Bank after an Israeli was killed in a drive-by shooting by suspected Palestinian assailants.
A military statement said the army beefed up its presence in the area of the attack overnight, with soldiers canvassing the area to locate the suspected gunmen.
The forces also cordoned off the villages and set up roadblocks.
“Entrances and exits to and from the villages surrounding Nablus will be possible only after security checks,” the statement read.
On Wednesday morning, Israeli Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot arrived at the scene in Havat Gilad, an illegal outpost near Nablus. He received a briefing on the attack and the efforts to find the perpetrators.
Eizenkot said the army believes the shooting was carried out by a Palestinian terror cell.
“The main mission at the moment is to locate the cell, to stop it and to prevent further terror events, and also to prepare for further activity in the area over the weekend,” he said in a statement released by the military.
On Tuesday night, Rabbi Raziel Shevah, a 35-year-old man, was shot multiple times from a passing car. He was rushed to hospital in a critical condition but died of his wounds later.
Shevah was identified by local media as a resident of the Havat Gilad and a father of six.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement declaring that security services “would do everything possible in order to apprehend the despicable murderer and the state of Israel will carry out justice against him.”
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said he had instructed his office to examine the legalization of Havat Gilad, an outpost built by ultra-nationalist settlers without Israeli permits.
Nickolay Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, condemned the attack.
“There is no justification for terror and those who condone it, praise it or glorify it,” he said on his Twitter account. “The perpetrators of yesterday’s attack must be brought to justice.”
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) of providing financial support to attackers.
“Hamas praises the killers and PA laws will provide them financial rewards,” he tweeted. “Look no further to why there is no peace.”
Violence in the region has soared since US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing a long-held White House policy.
The statement triggered protests in the West Bank and along the fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, leading to at least 13 Palestinians killed, according to local media.
Israel captured East Jerusalem together with the rest of the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Middle East war. Shortly afterward, Israel annexed East Jerusalem, claiming it part of its “indivisible capital.” The move was never recognized internationally.
The US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians reached an impasse in 2014.
Following Trump’s Jerusalem recognition, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the US can no longer act as an unbiased mediator.
