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Hamas operative killed as IDF tracks down killers of West Bank rabbi

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The Palestinian man responsible for killing an Israeli father of ten in a West Bank drive-by shooting earlier this month was  killed last night as he resisted arrest by Israeli forces.

IDF soldiers and Shin Bet teams surrounded a house in the village of Surief, near Hebron, where 29-year-old Mohammed al-Faqih was hiding. An anti-tank missile was fired into the house after he opened fire on the Israeli troops, killing al-Faqih. A weapons cache including Kalashnikovs and homemade grenades were found in the home. During the exchange of fire, a Palestinian woman was lightly wounded according to Haaretz. Electricity and internet in the village was suspended as the operation unfolded.

The Shin Bet said that al-Faqih had previously been a member of Islamic Jihad, but became loyal to Hamas during time in prison. Another member of the cell, 38-year-old Mohammad Majid Amaira, was arrested earlier this month and provided information which helped lead to locating al-Faqih. Meanwhile, al-Faqih’s brother Sahib was also arrested for helping hide and conceal weapons, while their cousin Muaz Fakieh was taken into custody for helping hide al-Faqih.

Earlier this month, Rabbi Michael Mark was killed when shots were fired at the car he was driving on Route 60, forcing him off the road, where the car overturned. Mark, 48, a father of ten and head of a nearby religious seminary, died at the scene, while his wife and two of his children, who were also in the car, were injured.

The deadly shooting came just a day after 13-year-old Hallel Yaffa Ariel was stabbed to death in her bed in nearby Kiryat Arba. The Hebron region has been a major flashpoint in a wave of Palestinian terror attacks across Israel since October, which have killed at least 40 people.

Also yesterday, a Palestinian woman carrying a knife was shot in the leg and lightly wounded after she refused to stop at the Qalandiya checkpoint near Jerusalem.