Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Dr. Saeb Erekat, denounced the Israeli invasion and the acts of collective punishment by the military, especially since the army fired missiles into the al-Heeh family home, and demolished it using armored military bulldozers.
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Afterwards, the house was struck with anti-tank missiles and the militant’s body was found inside. Over 200 Palestinians have been killed in the same time frame, 139 of whom Israel says were militants.
“We besieged the house and exchanges of fire took place after he opened fire at the soldiers. His house was destroyed on him”.
“During the operation to stop Mohamed Fakih, who carried out the attack, he was killed in an exchange of fire with soldiers”.
“A terrorist behind the attack in which Rabbi Michael Mark was assassinated on 1 July was killed on Tuesday night during exchanges of fire with soldiers”, the statement said.
Israeli forces also reportedly arrested three people as well as killing the man they hold responsible for the rabbi’s murder.
Hebron is the scene of frequent tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It issued a statement saying a Palestinian security official was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of driving Fakih to the scene of the rabbi attack.
Islamist group Hamas identified the man killed in the raid as Mohammad al-Fakih and it said he was a member of its armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades. While in prison, he joined the Al-Qassam Brigades, according to YNet News.
Al-Faqih was accused of being responsible for an attack that killed an Israeli settler in a drive-by shooting in the southern West Bank district of Hebron on July 1, 2016.
Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.
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The raid sparked intense clashes with local Palestinian youths who protested the raid and attempted to block Israeli soldiers’ course.
