Ex-US marine from Israel seriously wounded in West Bank shooting, assailant nabbed

A former United States Marine who is also an Israeli citizen was shot and severely injured in a terror-related event in the town of Huwara in the West Bank. The assailant was reportedly apprehended after a short pursuit, reported The Times of Israel. 

David Stern, a resident of the Itamar settlement and a weapons instructor, was identified as the victim of the terror-related incident in Huwara. Stern, who is in his 40s, is a former US Marine and also holds American citizenship, as confirmed by Tom Nides, the US Ambassador to Israel.

According to the report, the suspect in the attack was shot by both the victim and law enforcement officers before managing to escape from the scene. It was reported that the suspect dropped the makeshift "Carlo" submachine gun used in the attack while fleeing, and that the weapon was subsequently confiscated by authorities.

Military medics transported the gunman to a hospital for medical treatment before transferring him to the Israeli Security Agency, also known as Shin Bet, for interrogation, as per the report. Palestinian media sources have identified the suspect as Laith Nadim Nassar, a resident of the village of Madama located south of Nablus.

4 Palestinians killed in similar incident

A similar incident occurred in Jenin in the West Bank on Thursday, where four Palestinians were killed and 23 others were wounded, reported CNN. The Health Ministry disclosed that five of the wounded are in critical condition.

The Israeli security forces, on the other hand, claimed that those who were eliminated in Jenin were suspected of involvement in terrorist activity.

In a statement, the Israeli security forces said they "neutralised two operatives of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organisation who are suspected of significant terrorist activity". A third person "was neutralised after he tried to attack the fighters with an iron crowbar," the statement added.

The armed individuals fired at the Israeli security forces during the operation, leading to casualties. Hamas released a statement declaring that two of the Palestinians who were killed in Jenin were members of their organisation.

"The cowardly assassination of two leaders of the resistance will not go unpunished. The occupation has tried us before, knows for sure that our response is coming and that the march of the resistance continues until liberation," the Hamas statement read.

Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organisation that gained control of the Gaza Strip by ousting Fatah officials. This caused a shift in power and a de facto division of the Palestinian territories into two distinct entities: the West Bank, governed by the Palestinian National Authority, and Gaza, ruled by Hamas.