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A Palestinian man, suspected to have been part of a terrorist cell, was killed last night after he opened fire at Israeli soldiers who attempted to arrest him.

The joint operation, conducted by the IDF and the Israel Police counter-terrorism unit, took place in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The Israeli forces surrounded the house of 31-year-old Basel al-Araj, who they intended to arrest. Al-Araj shot at the soldiers, who returned fire and killed him at the scene.

Searching his home, Israeli forces found an M-16 rifle and an improvised ‘Carlo’ rifle. In a statement, Israel Police said that “Al-Araj directed a [terror] cell and was responsible for purchasing the weaponry”. No group has yet claimed al-Araj as a member. Israel Radio reported that he had previously been detained by the Palestinian Authority on suspicion of planning attacks against Israelis.

Following last night’s shoot-out, violent clashes took place between Israeli soldiers and locals near al-Araj’s home. Rocks were thrown and soldiers responded, wounding two men in the process.

Also yesterday, the Israel Border Police arrested two Palestinian men who were reportedly planning to carry out a knife attack at the Tapuach Junction, near Nablus in the West Bank. Officers noticed the two men approaching the junction via an open field and questioned them. The two men were found in possession of a knife and were subsequently arrested. They did not resist arrest.

Tapuach Junction has been the scene of multiple knife and vehicle attacks since October 2015, when a wave of Palestinian attacks erupted, killing 46 people.

Overnight, Israeli forces also arrested 12 Palestinian terror suspects in the West Bank, including seven Hamas members. Four were apprehended in Hebron, two in Jenin and one in Qalqilya. Palestinian media claims that two of those arrested in Bethlehem were Hamas members of the Palestinian parliament, Anwar Zabun and Khaled Tafesh.