Israeli Soldier Murdered by Member of the Palestinian Authority’s Intelligence Forces

An Israeli soldier was killed in a shootout in the West Bank when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire overnight Wednesday.

The terrorists, Ahmed Ayman Abed and Abdul Rahman Abed from a village near the terror hub of Jenin in the West Bank, were also killed by IDF soldiers. Ahmed Abed was a graduate from the Palestinian Authority’s police academy and worked in the Palestinian security services’ intelligence branch, the Haaretz newspaper reported.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the terror wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the attack and said both the men were members.

The Israeli soldier, identified as 30-year-old Maj. Bar Falach, was the deputy commander of an elite Nahal reconnaissance battalion.

“We bow our heads following the death of Major Bar Falah, an Israeli hero, the Deputy Commander of the Nahal Brigade Reconnaissance Unit, who was killed last night in a clash with terrorists,” Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement.

“He was killed as he and his soldiers heroically confronted and neutralized the terrorists. We send our condolences to his parents, his partner, his family, and his friends,” he said.

Noting that one of the terrorists was a member of the Palestinian Authority’s intelligence forces, Lapid went on: “This escalates things to another level.”

“We will not hesitate to act in any place that the Palestinian Authority does not maintain order. The IDF and [Shin Bet security agency] are prepared for every scenario in order to prevent terrorism from rearing its head. They are prepared on all fronts, together with the Israel Police on the seam line. Israel will forcefully target whoever tries to harm it.”

Together with other soldiers, Falach went to investigate the gunmen after they showed up on CCTV acting suspiciously.

As the soldiers approached them, the Palestinians extracted their guns and began shooting. The soldiers ran for cover and returned fire.

One of the terrorists was armed with a makeshift “Carlo,” the preferred Palestinian submachine gun, while the other was armed with a semiautomatic weapon, the army said.

A day earlier, Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Israeli engineers working on the security barrier in the same area.

Israeli security forces have arrested some 2,000 suspected terrorists in Jenin and the surrounding area after a terror wave has seen dozens of attacks and 19 Israelis killed in recent months.