BICOM

Israeli security forces announced yesterday that five Palestinian men, most with links to the Palestinian Authority (PA), were arrested over the murder of an Israeli man in the West Bank last month.

25-year-old Danny Gonen from the central city of Lod was shot and killed by a gunman as he returned from hiking with a friend near the West Bank settlement of Dolev. Gonen’s murder is one of a number of terror attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem during the past two months. The alleged killer, 30-year-old Muhammad Abu-Shaheen, from Qalandiya, is said to have flagged down Gonen’s vehicle before opening fire from point blank range. Under interrogation, Abu-Shaheen admitted to the shooting and said that the cell had carried out reconnaissance prior to the attack.

Abu-Shaheen is a member of the PA’s elite Force 17 unit. He was imprisoned between 2006 and 2008 for planning a terror attack. Abu-Shaheen also admitted to carrying out six other shootings, including one last November which injured an Israeli soldier. Four other Palestinian men from Qalandiya were also arrested in connection with Gonen’s killing. They include Asraf Amar, a 24-year-old member of PA military Intelligence, Osama Assad aged 29, a member of Fatah, headed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas and 35-year-old Amjad Aduan who has previously been detained for planning terror attacks.

In response to the arrests, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented “On the day of the murder, I said that we would catch the reprehensible and abhorrent murderer… Now that it becomes clear that this was a Palestinian Authority man, it will be interesting to see if the Palestinian Authority condemns the murder or continues its silence.” There has been no comment yet from the PA.

Also yesterday, a 22-year-old Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli soldier in the back near the West Bank settlement of Nahliel. The soldier is in light to moderate condition. The attacker was immediately apprehended and said that she had intended to kill a soldier.