AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – A Zionist soldier was shot dead Tuesday near a settlement in the occupied West Bank, the second deadly attack on armed forces in less than a week, the occupying regime’s army said.
“Two assailants arrived in a vehicle adjacent to the community of Shavei Shomron and shot live fire at IDF (the Zionist regime’s military) soldiers,” the army said, announcing one of the soldiers was killed.
The shooting was claimed by “The Lions’ Den”, a coalition of Palestinian fighters which has emerged in recent months.
“We announce carrying out a second shooting operation targeting occupation (Zionist) soldiers in the Deir Sharaf area, west of Nablus,” the group said.
Zionist troops are in pursuit of the assailants following the attack near Nablus in the northern West Bank, the military added in its statement.
An AFP journalist saw the regime’s troops deployed in the area and checking vehicles.
The killing comes three days after a Zionist soldier was shot dead at a checkpoint in east Al-Quds.
Zionist troops are continuing a manhunt for the alleged gunman, identified by police as a 22-year-old Palestinian resident of the city.
East Al-Quds and the West Bank have been occupied by the regime since the 1967 Six-Day War.
Zionist settlements have been established by the regime across the two territories, which are deemed illegal by most of the international community.
The developments come as Zionist troops have trapped more than 100,000 Palestinians in the Shufat refugee camp and the nearby Anata town amid an ongoing search for the shooter that killed the Zionist soldier.
According to Palestinian news outlets, the Shufat refugee camp and the town of Anata, northeast of Al-Quds, have been besieged by Zionist troops since Saturday night.
Entrances and exits to the camp and town have been closed as Zionist troops began search and arrest raids in the area as part of a large-scale campaign to find the suspect.
Reports from the refugee camp said at least 20 people were arrested since the attack, including, according to what the occupying regime’s military claims, members of the family of the alleged attacker.
Anata mayor Taha Rifai told the Palestinian WAFA news agency that Zionist troops continued on Monday to break into homes, terrorize families, stop people in the streets and check their papers while forcing shops to shut down.
Since the beginning of the blockade, Palestinians have been unable to leave to receive necessary health treatments, and many basic supplies like flour are running low. Education within the camp has been suspended as well.