A 22-year-old Israeli man was killed on Thursday in a terrorist attack at a shopping complex at the Gush Etzion Junction in the West Bank, according to the Israeli military, police, and medics.
West Bank District Commander Moshe Pinchi stated that the two Palestinian terrorists involved in the attack were shot and killed by a soldier and another armed civilian at the scene.
According to a preliminary investigation, the two attackers arrived at the shopping center in a stolen car and stabbed a security guard outside a supermarket. They then seized the guard’s handgun and exchanged fire with the soldier and the armed civilian before being shot dead.
Shalev Zvuluny, 22, from Kiryat Arba, was initially critically wounded in the West Bank attack but later succumbed to his injuries, Magen David Adom medics confirmed. The Israel Defense Forces classified the assault as a “combined shooting and stabbing attack.” Zvuluny was remembered by the local council of the Hebron-area settlement as a cherished individual, offering condolences to his grieving family.
Following the attack, the IDF said troops were surrounding the nearby West Bank town of Halhul and blocking roads in the area.
The two perpetrators were later identified as Palestinian cops who served in the Palestinian Authority’s police force, The Times of Israel learned. The two were in their early 20s and had completed their training only a few months ago.
Palestinian media identified the attackers as Mahmoud Abed, 23, from Halhul, and Malik Salem, 23, from Tulkarem. A defense official noted that neither had any prior security record or history of detention by Israel. The armed civilian who shot the attackers told Channel 12 News that he was standing in the checkout line when the gunfire began.
Shalev Zvuluny, 22, from Kiryat Arba being killed
“Someone entered the store and yelled that there were terrorists outside. I left everything in the store, and immediately ran outside together with a soldier who was in civilian clothing,” he said.
“There was heavy gunfire, and we were initially unsure of its origin,” the armed civilian said. “Eventually, we located the two terrorists who were hiding and eliminated them.”
A witness named Ilan recounted hearing shots coming from every direction and remarked, “It was a miracle that the situation didn’t escalate into a larger tragedy.”
On Thursday earlier, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported that one of their soldiers was stabbed by a Palestinian in the West Bank village of Rummanah, near Jenin, during ongoing operations.
Since the Hamas-led invasion from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the ongoing conflict, IDF troops have detained approximately 6,000 Palestinians throughout the West Bank. Among those arrested, more than 2,350 are believed to be affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry, over 950 Palestinians in the West Bank have died during this period. The IDF states that most of those fatalities involved militants killed in armed clashes, rioters confronting troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.
Meanwhile, terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank have claimed the lives of 53 people, including Israeli security personnel, since October 7. Additionally, eight members of security forces have been killed in confrontations with terrorists in the West Bank.
