Israeli military says it killed suspect behind deadly ambush

Mohamed Fakih, of the Islamist group Hamas, died in a gun battle with troops who surrounded his hideout in the village of Surif.

A month after murdering the late Rabbi Michael Mark and injuring his wife and 2 children in Otniel, Security Forces discovered the Hamas terror squad that was behind the attack.

The Israeli soldiers, he said, fired several anti-tank missiles at the house after the “terrorist” started to return fire.

The house targeted and damaged during the fighting, was then demolished by an Israeli bulldozer.

Before launching the Tuesday raid, the military ordered a power cut to be imposed on the village.

The United Nations relief agency working with Palestinian refugees has said that Israel’s closure of a Hebron district amounts to “collective punishment” and warned of the humanitarian impact. We responded and the terrorist was killed in battle. While the operation was underway, rioting broke out with Palestinians using stones, firebombs and gunfire against the troops.

Some 35 Israelis, including Rabbi Mark, have been killed since October. Hebron is the scene of frequent tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Fakih’s brother and cousin were also held on suspicion of helping him to hide after the attack.

The victim has been identified as 29-year-old Muhammad al-Fakih, whom Hamas has acknowledged as belonging to the movement. The Al-Qassam Brigades are Hamas’s armed wing.

An Israeli army spokesperson said that a Palestinian woman sustained minor wounds during the military attack and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on Wednesday dawn have demolished a home in Surif town north of Hebron with a Palestinian man in it amid intense clashes that lasted for hours. They were glad that the people responsible for the murder of the head of their household were apprehended, but furious at the discovery that one of the perpetrators was in the employ of the PA security forces – and at the revelation that others had served in and been released from an Israeli prison.