Terror in West Bank: Seven soldiers wounded by explosive device after outpost shooting

Terrorists in the West Bank carried out an attack on a military outpost near the settlement of Homesh on Friday, wounding seven Israeli soldiers, the IDF said.

The terrorists attempted to flee and were pursued by the IDF. Seven troops were wounded by an explosive device during the pursuit and were evacuated to a nearby hospital, according to Israeli media.

The IDF three soldiers were in moderate condition, with all three evacuated via helicopter to Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus. Four more troops were lightly wounded, the Israeli military said.

Preliminary investigations showed a shooting near the yeshiva area in Homesh.

Palestinian attackers detonated an explosive device in the West Bank town of Silat ad-Dhahr, wounding seven soldiers who were pursuing gunmen who shot at a nearby army outpost on Friday afternoon, the IDF said.

Three soldiers in moderate condition were evacuated via helicopter to Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus. Four were lightly wounded.

Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, told broadcaster N12 that “The Palestinian Authority is trying to heat up the sector in northern Samaria. The attack symbolizes a step up, and it is a test of the government and the senior members of the security establishment. The citizens of Israel need to have security in northern Samaria and in the entire State of Israel.”

Earlier Friday, the IDF said troops killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative allegedly involved in planning major attacks in the northern West Bank village of Silat al-Harithiya overnight.

The IDF also carried out a raid on the Nur Shams camp near Tulkarem on Saturday.

Reapproved construction

Last year, construction at Homesh was approved by the government after it had been abandoned in 2005 as part of the general disengagement.

Homesh was largely constructed on privately owned Palestinian land belonging to the residents of Burka.

The residents's rights to their property were reaffirmed in 2013 when the High Court of Justice ruled that they had the right to farm the land.

The High Court approved the construction of a yeshiva at Homesh in 2023 without any guarantees to Palestinians they would be able to access their land.