New Heroic Op in Central Tel Aviv: 3 Settlers Injured

By Staff, Agencies

Hours after “Israeli” forces martyred three Palestinian men in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Mutaz Salah Al-Khawaja injured at least three “Israeli” settlers, including one critically, in the coastal city of Tel Aviv.

“Israeli” police said the Palestinian man opened fire at the settlers outside a cafe on the corner of “Dizengoff Street” and “Ben Gurion” Street on Thursday night. He then fled the scene before being shot dead in a shootout with police officers a short time later.

He was later identified as 23-year-old Mutaz Salah Al-Khawaja, a Palestinian from the West Bank of Ni’lin who had been twice jailed by “Israel”.

Al-Khawaja was shot dead by four armed individuals, including two “Israeli” police officers who were at the scene, one of whom was off duty. The other two included a settler and a reserve officer.

The injured settlers were evacuated to “Ichilov” Hospital. One of them arrived in critical condition after being shot in the neck. Another arrived in moderate condition with gunshot wounds, while the third was slightly injured by shrapnel, according to the medical staff at the hospital.

Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said in a statement that Al-Khawaja was a member of its military wing – the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

It said the attack was a “natural response” to recent deadly “Israeli” military raids in the West Bank but did not explicitly take responsibility for the shooting.

"The occupiers wanted to bring the Palestinian people to their knees, but this operation deep in the occupation regime means the determination of the Palestinians to stand against the occupation," Dawood Shehab, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad movement, said.

“Israeli” forces stormed the West Bank town of Ni’lin, near Ramallah, shortly after midnight and raided the home of Al-Khawaja.

The raid came after “Israeli” minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant ordered the troops to “immediately” begin work to demolish the Palestinian man’s home.