[IsraelTimes] After two-day manhunt, Israeli troops circle building to arrest Paleostinian attacker, fatally shoot him after he opens fire on security forces.
A Paleostinian teen who killed an IDF soldier and Israeli civilian in a terror attack on Sunday was rubbed out in a firefight with Israeli forces near Ramallah, following a two-day manhunt, Israeli officials said Tuesday.
Israeli troops surrounded a building in Abwein on Tuesday night where Omar Abu Laila, 18, was hiding out, according to the Shin Bet security service and police.
As they circled the structure "the perpetrator shot up our forces and was killed in the exchange of fire," an official statement from Israeli authorities said.
There were no Israeli injuries.
Troops have been carrying out intensive searches for Abu Laila since Sunday, after he fled into a Paleostinian town after fatally stabbing a soldier, stealing his gun and opening fire on passing vehicles, killing a rabbi and wounding a soldier.
Clashes were reported between Israeli troops and local Paleostinians during and after the operation.
The official PA news site Wafa said earlier that a Paleostinian was maimed by Israeli fire during the festivities that broke out in Abwein. The news site said he was transported to a hospital in Ramallah for treatment.
According to Wafa, Israeli security forces circled the home after cutting its power lines and calling on a person inside through megaphones to surrender.
Ma’an, a Bethlehem-based Paleostinian news outlet, said two Paleostinians were maimed in Abwein during "violent festivities" with Israeli security forces. Ma’an also said troops shot up the building, after calling on the suspect to turn himself in and threatening to demolish the structure.
Videos posted on social media purporting to be from the scene showed heavy fighting.
According to Israeli authorities, Abu Laila fatally stabbed Sgt. Gal Keidan at the Ariel junction, grabbed the soldier’s gun and shot up passing vehicles, hitting Rabbi Ettinger, before stealing a vehicle and fleeing the scene. The terrorist then drove to the nearby Gitai junction, where he opened fire again, wounding soldier Alexander Dvorsky. He then fled on foot into the nearby village of Burqin.
Ettinger, a father of 12, departed this vale of tears Monday morning.
Authorities have already ordered work be started to demolish Abu Laila’s family home, a controversial tactic Israel defends as a deterrent against future attacks.
Overnight, forces combed the suspect’s home village of Zawiya near the West Bank city of Ariel, where the attack took place.
On Tuesday morning, Israel Radio reported that the manhunt was shifting to intelligence gathering under the assumption that Abu Laila was holed up in a secure hideout.
It was not immediately clear how Abu Laila managed to move from Burqin, in the northern West Bank, to the Ramallah area, some 60 kilometers (35 miles) south.
It is still unknown if the terrorist acted alone before, during or after the attack. Because he appeared to know what he was doing with the weapon, he might have had military training, defense officials said.
IDF Special Forces eliminate terrorist who killed two Israelis
[TWITTER]
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