BICOM

Israel Defence Force (IDF) soldiers launched an operation last night in Nablus to apprehend Abdul Karim Adel Assi who is suspected of killing Rabbi Itamar Ben Gal in a stabbing attack on Monday. Israeli soldiers surrounded Assi’s fathers house in Nablus as intelligence reports suggested he was hiding there.  IDF sources confirmed that, while carrying out the operation, soldiers from the Samaria Regional Brigade were attacked with stones, firebombs and explosive devices.

An IDF spokesperson said: “During the activity, a violent riot was instigated as approximately 500 Palestinians hurled rocks, firebombs and explosive devices and fired live rounds at IDF soldiers. Soldiers responded with riot dispersal means and fired warning shots into the air.”

Palestinian media reported that one Palestinian man was killed in the clashes and the Palestinian Red Crescent said fifty people were injured, mostly from gunfire. Five of them are in a critical condition.

YNET reported that Assi apparently visited the site a day before he carried out his attack . He was detained for a short time, soldiers examined his Israeli ID card and let him go. A witness told YNET: “After the terror attack when I saw the terrorist’s picture I identified him from the incident a day earlier.” The IDF said a preliminary investigation showed the soldiers who detained Assi had acted appropriately.

Assi’s mother, who is from Haifa, issued a public appeal for him to surrender: “You have no right to take lives,” she said. “I don’t agree with this act, I’m against violence and against killing”.

On Tuesday morning, Rabbi Ben-Tal was buried in a cemetery in the Har Bracha settlement where he lived with his family. He is survived by his wife and four children.