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Photos:
Israeli soldiers take up positions at the scene of a Palestinian shooting attack on an Israeli car at the Hawara checkpoint, near the West Bank city of Nablus, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. Credit: Majdi Mohammed /AP Published by Haaretz

Yagel Yaniv. Published by Haaretz

Hillel Yaniv. Published by Haaretz

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Palestinian sources say that the shooter was wearing a t-shirt with an insignia of the Nablus-based Lion's Den militant group

by Jack Khoury, Josh Breiner, and Yaniv Kubovich for Haaretz
Feb 26, 2023 2:00 pm IST

Two Jewish Israelis were shot dead on Sunday when driving through the West Bank town of Hawara, near the city of Nablus.

According to local sources, the Palestinian shooter, who was wearing a shirt with the insignia of the Nablus-based Lion's Den militant group, rammed their car before shooting them both several times and fleeing the scene. The Israeli military is searching the area for the assailant.

The Israeli fatalities are 22-year-old Hillel Yaniv, and 20-year-old Yagel Yaniv, two brothers from the settlement of Har Bracha in the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir issued a joint statement after the shooting. They said that the government passed a law today legalizing the death penalty for anyone convicted of terrorism against Israelis. Ben-Gvir called the law "a symbolic response to terrorism'" and Netanyahu said that the most appropriate response to terrorism was for Jews to "deepen their roots in their own land."

Following the attack, Gaza Strip-based Hamas said that "Hawara operation is a natural response to the occupation's crimes, the latest of which was the Nablus massacre," referring to the Israeli raid last week which killed 12 Palestinians and injured over one hundred others. "The resistance in the West Bank will stay steady," he warned. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, meanwhile, dubbed the shooting a "strong message to the summit in Aqaba."

The victims of the Hawara shooting were leading figures in the Har Bracha settlement youths' cultural life. The boys' mother said that the two were on their way to yeshiva to study. "We have a huge hole in our heart that nothing can fill. Not construction, not protests, nothing," she said to members of the community. 'God has stuck us with a mighty blow", she added.

The shooting comes as Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian, Egyptian and American representatives gathered in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba to try to secure calm in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Following the shooting, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded to recall the Israeli delegation saying that "calm will only be achieved once the Israeli army strikes the terror cities without mercy."

Israeli settlers issued calls to organize a march to Hawara on Sunday evening in order to, in their own words "seek revenge" for the attacks. Reports on social media say that settlers are also planning to block the entrance to Nablus.

A few hours after the shooting, a large group of settlers entered Hawara and began setting cars and houses in the village on fire. The Palestinians threw rocks at them in retaliation. The settlers set a house on fire when a Palestinian family was inside but Israeli security forces have rescued the family safely.

The Palestinians also report that following the shooting, a Palestinian was taken to hospital after being attacked by settlers in Nablus.
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Two Israeli Colonizers Killed In A Shooting In Huwwara Near Nablus

by IMEMC News
Feb 26, 2023

Israeli sources have confirmed Sunday, the death of two Israeli colonizers who were shot from a passing Palestinian car in Huwwara town, south of Nablus, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

The sources said the Israeli army and paramedics administered first aid to the two colonizers, who were unconscious and in critical condition, before rushing them to Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, where they succumbed to their wounds.

According to Israeli Ynet News, the Palestinians fired at the colonizers from point-blank range and sped away. The colonizers were shot while driving their car in Huwwara.

In addition, Israeli National News said the two Israelis were reportedly in their twenties and added that the paramedics and the army’s medical force administered first aid before placing them in military intensive care vehicles and rushing them to a medical center.

The Israeli army initiated massive search campaigns in Huwwara and all surrounding areas and closed many streets to locate the shooters.

After the shooting, dozens of paramilitary colonizers invaded Huwwara, Burin, and Qaryout towns and burnt a Palestinian car.

The colonizers also attacked the home of Abdullah Huwwari in Huwwara and burnt the property.

The Quds News Network said the colonizer burnt two under-construction Palestinian homes and a barn and attacked many homes, wounding at least one young man.

The army also closed Huwwara and Awarta military roadblocks and searched dozens of Palestinian vehicles before more troops were deployed in the area.

Dozens of Palestinians protested the closure of the Huwwara military roadblock before the army attacked them with live rounds, gas bombs, and concussion grenades.

It is worth mentioning that the paramilitary colonizers have frequently been invading Huwwata, attacking the Palestinians and their homes and shops, and burning cars.

Earlier Sunday, many paramilitary colonizers invaded Yanoun village, south of Nablus, attacked and detained a Palestinian family on their land while Israeli soldiers installed roadblocks and prevented the Palestinians from helping the family.

Also Sunday, Israeli military bulldozers uprooted Palestinian farmlands in Shoufa village, southeast of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, after the army closed and isolated the entire area.

On February 23, 2023, Israeli soldiers killed Mohammad Nabil Fawzi Abu Sabah, 29, In Jenin, in the northern West Bank.

The day before Mohammad’s death, Israeli soldiers killed eleven Palestinians, injured more than 102, six seriously, and caused more than 250 Palestinians to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation and other minor wounds.