Israel: Ex-US Marine wounded in West Bank shooting, gunman apprehended by police

In yet another terror attack in the West bank town of Huwara, Israel, a former US Marine was shot and seriously wounded. The gunman was detained after a brief chase. The victim named David Stern, from the settlement of Itamar, is a former US Marine who works as a weapon instructor.

US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides confirmed that Stern is also an American citizen. The gunman was earlier shot by the victim as well as the officers but somehow he fled the scene.

Sub-Machinegun used in the attack

Carlo used a makeshift submachine gun in the attack. The accused dropped it while fleeing the site of the attack. It is manufactured by small workshops in the Palestinian territories. The design was inspired by the Swedish Carl Gustav m/45. In the 2000s, it was identified by the Israeli police officers, seen with the Israel-Arab gangs. 

The west bank is slowly and gradually becoming the hub of such violent attacks. A similar incident took place on Thursday, March 16, in Westbank where four Palestinians were killed and 23 others were wounded. The health ministry stated that five of those who were injured were in critical condition.

Israeli security forces had said that those neutralised were suspected of terror activities. They also said that “the cowardly assassination of the two leaders of the resistance will not go unpunished. The occupation has tried us before, know for sure that our response is coming and the mass of the resistance will continue for liberation”.

Hamas, a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant and nationalist organisation, took control of the Gaza strip by removing the Fattah officials. This resulted in the change in powers and the De-facto division of the Palestinian territories into two entities. The west bank is governed by the Palestinian National Authority and Gaza is governed by Hamas.  

This weapon has become very popular among criminal groups outside Israel, including Croatia, Brazil, Chile, Ukraine, Italy, South America, the Caribbean and Australia. This weapon was constantly used in the Israel-Arab conflict. During the operation, armed persons fired at the forces and there were casualties as a result of this.