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Photo:
Scene in Ariel. Published by IMEMC News

Photo of the shooter's car taken by security cameras outside the entrance of Ariel on Friday. Published by Haaretz
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by IMEMC News
April 30, 2022

Israeli sources have reported, late Friday night, that a security guard at the Ariel illegal colony in the occupied West Bank was shot dead by Palestinian fighters who managed to escape unharmed. As a result, the army and internal security initiated a massive search campaign.

The sources said the shooting was conducted with an improvised Carl Gustave submachine gun, adding that the guard is 23 years of age.

Israeli Ynet News said video footage from the scene of the fatal shooting shows two persons stepping out of a car before running up to the guard and shooting him.

One of the shooters returned to the car, made a U-turn, and picked up the other person before speeding away, Ynet added.

Israeli medics said they tried first aid after arriving at the scene, but the guard had no pulse and wasn’t breathing before they pronounced him dead due to his serious wounds.

A few hours after the shooting, the Israeli army closed the iron gate near Qarawat Bani Hasan town, on the main road leading to villages and towns west of Salfit, and prevented the Palestinians from crossing.

The soldiers briefly detained and interrogated dozens of Palestinians and searched many cars.

The Israeli army and Shin Bet (Israel’s Internal Security Agency) initiated a massive search campaign in the entire area, especially north and west of Salfit.

The army said it found a burnt car believed to be used in the fatal shooting.

The soldiers also installed many roadblocks, blocking main roads and isolating entire Palestinian communities.

The army invaded and ransacked many Palestinian homes and shops on Kafr Thuluth, Beit Amin, and Sanniriya, near Qalqilia, during the ongoing search for the shooters and confiscated surveillance recordings and equipment.
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Security Guard Killed in Terror Attack Outside Israeli Settlement

The 23-year-old Israeli security shielded his fiancée after two assailants opened fire at the post at the entrance to the settlement of Ariel

by Jack Khoury, Hagar Shezaf, Yaniv Kubovich, Josh Breiner and The Associated Press for Haaretz

Apr. 29, 2022
Updated: Apr. 30, 2022 7:33 PM

A 23-year-old security guard was killed by gunfire on Friday outside the Israeli settlement of Ariel in the West Bank, shielding his fiancée in the suspected terror attack.

23-year-old Vyacheslav Golov was the eldest of eight siblings in an ultra-Orthodox family hailing from the city of Bet Shemesh, near Jerusalem, and was renting an apartment in Ariel.

The military said that two assailants driving a car with an Israeli license plate arrived at the guard post at the entrance to Ariel and opened fire at the two security guards, who were engaged to be married.

The shooters fled the scene after the attack, the military said, but were caught in the northern West Bank town of Qarawat Bani Hassan on Saturday evening after an extensive manhunt.

"When we arrived at the scene we saw an unconscious man in his 20s who sustained gunshot wounds," a paramedic who was called to the scene said. "He wasn't breathing and didn't have a pulse… he did not show any signs of life, so we had to pronounce him dead."

Following the attack, the military deployed infantry and special forces, along with police forces in the area.

Two other suspects were arrested overnight in the West Bank for participating in terror activities, according to the military.

Brig. Gen. Avi Blut, who commands the Israeli military's Central Command, said that during an operation in the village of Azzun in the West Bank Israeli forces came under attack and responded with live fire, hitting one man.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 27-year-old Yahya Ali Adwan was shot to death Saturday by IDF forces in the village Azzun.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah's militant wing, took responsibility for the attack in Ariel, calling it "a heroic action in Ariel which caused the death of a Zionist officer.

"Just as we promised, we will work to lock down the cities, and that happened during Raad Hazem's attack. All this activity is a response to Israeli aggression against the holy places in Jerusalem."

Hamas' spokesperson Hazem Qassem praised the attack, calling it proof that a revolution is taking place in the West Bank and that "Jerusalem is a red line," while the leader of the group in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, threatened a "big battle" if "the Zionist enemy does not cease its aggression at Al-Aqsa Mosque."

Hezbollah also praised "the heroic action in Ariel." The organization went on to say that the attack was an indication of "the determination of the Palestinian people to fight the occupation, and defends itself and the sacred places with every means at its disposal."

In response to the attack Ariel Mayor Eliyahu Shaviro expressed confidence in security forces, saying: "We trust the security forces to stop the terrorists who did this heinous crime. No one will stop us."

Over the past month of Ramadan, tensions between Israeli security forces and Palestinians have been especially high, particularly over Ramadan prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Over the past two months, a string of Palestinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank have left 16 dead. Meanwhile, at least 27 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli operations in the West Bank, some related to locating suspects behind the terror attacks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Israel Captures Two Palestinians Suspected of Killing Settlement Security Guard

The two suspects who shot dead an Israeli at the entrance to the West Bank settlement of Ariel are not affiliated with any militant group, according to security sources

by Hagar Shezaf Yaniv Kubovich Josh Breiner and Jack Khoury for Haaretz
Apr. 30, 2022 7:22 PM

Israeli forces captured two suspects who are believed to be responsible for the Friday evening attack on security guards outside the West Bank settlement of Ariel, which left one 23-year-old dead.

The IDF and anti-terror units arrested the two suspects, Yusuf 'Assi and Yahya Ma'ari, in their twenties in the northern West Bank of Qarawat Bani Hassan, after an investigation by the Shin Bet security service.

The victim, Vyacheslav Golov, was the eldest of eight siblings in an ultra-Orthodox family hailing from the city of Bet Shemesh, near Jerusalem, and was renting an apartment in Ariel. The two security guards were engaged, and Golov shielded his fiancée once the assailants opened fire.

'Assi is not believed to be explicitly tied to any political group, while Ma'ari is likely linked to Hamas. 'Assi also does not have a criminal record, whereas Ma'ari served a seven-month sentence in Israeli prison for illegal possession of a weapon, where he was held in the Hamas wing of Meggido Prison.

Residents of Qarawat Bani Hassan said that Yusuf 'Assi was not known to belong to any political group. However, Hassan Ibrahim 'Assi, the mayor of the town, said that Ma'ari's family was affiliated with Hamas, even though Yahya's own affiliation was unclear. His father Mohammed was imprisoned with Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas, and even named his son after his close friend Yahya Ayyash, the chief bomb-maker for the Islamist group.

Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah's militant wing, took responsibility for the attack in Ariel, calling it "a heroic action in Ariel which caused the death of a Zionist officer," but it is not clear if the claim is reliable.

The arrest operation occurred at one of the suspects' homes, where both of them were present, according to security sources. Israeli security forces also detained the family members at the scene and confiscated two weapons, which they believe were used in the attack.

The suspects have been transferred to Shin Bet interrogation, which are trying to establish whether they operated as part of a larger cell and whether there were any accomplices.

On Saturday evening, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett expressed his condolences to the family and said that "there is no terrorist that we will not reach, and settle the score. Our war with terror is long, and together we will win."

In a statement issued by the Israel Police, Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said the arrest "is a decisive message that expresses the policy of the Israel Police, which operates on all of the fronts and with all of its units, including special forces, to thwart terrorism and arrest anyone who has harmed or who seeks to harm Israeli civilians or members of the security forces. "

In the wake of the attack, the IDF said that two assailants who were driving a car with an Israeli license plate arrived at the guard post at the entrance to Ariel and opened fire at the two security guards.

The shooters fled the scene after the attack, the military said, as forces searched for the attackers in the northern West Bank and surrounded the adjacent Palestinian town of Salfit.

Over the past two months, a string of Palestinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank have left 16 dead. Meanwhile, at least 27 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, some related to locating suspects behind the terror attacks.

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