In a rapid response that prevented potential mass casualties, security forces successfully neutralized an armed assailant at a transit junction on Friday. The incident began when the attacker parked his vehicle approximately 500 feet from the junction before advancing on foot toward the transit stop.
At least eight people were wounded, three of them seriously, when a Hamas terrorist opened fire at a civilian bus near the West Bank settlement of Ariel on Friday. The assailant was shot dead by security forces.
According to the Magen David Adom ambulance service, four people were hit by gunfire, including three in serious condition and one in moderate condition. Another four people were lightly wounded by broken glass, MDA said.
The military said that four of the wounded were soldiers and all were lightly injured.
Members of the Bari Battalion, a specialized unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), engaged and neutralized the attacker within seconds of the assault beginning. The Bari Battalion, established by former Member of Knesset Lt. Col. Yoaz Hendel, was created to address IDF manpower shortages and consists primarily of former special forces operators who had previously aged out of combat service.
Israel Gantz, who serves as both head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, issued a statement following the incident, pointing to broader regional security concerns. “This severe shooting attack carried out by an armed terrorist equipped with combat gear clearly shows Iran’s fingerprints in funding and arming terror in Judea and Samaria,” he stated.
Gantz called for expanded military action in response to the attack. “We pray for the recovery of the wounded and demand resolute action to change the reality in Judea and Samaria,” he said. “We must act against Iranian terror in the region with the same determination shown against terror in Gaza and Lebanon – through population displacement and dismantling terror cells.”
He concluded with a direct appeal to leadership, calling on “the prime minister and defense minister to direct the IDF to conduct a large-scale operation in Judea and Samaria aimed at dismantling terror cells and restoring security to the region.”
The swift response by security forces in this incident highlights the ongoing security challenges in the region while demonstrating the effectiveness of rapid-reaction units like the Bari Battalion in preventing potential mass-casualty events.
Judea and Samaria have seen a sharp rise in Palestinian terrorism since the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to massacre approximately 1,200 Israelis, rape, and take 251 hostages.
Sharp restrictions on Palestinian movement in Judea and Samaria and wide-scale counterterrorism operations there followed the massacre. On Wednesday, the Shin Bet said it thwarted an arms shipment to Samaria by Iran.
Since Oct. 7, Israeli troops have arrested some 5,250 wanted Palestinians across Judea and Samaria, including more than 2,050 affiliated with Hamas.
