A member of Israel's elite National Counterterrorism Unit (Yamam) was seriously wounded Friday afternoon in an exchange of fire with Palestinian gunmen near Jenin during an operation to apprehend a wanted terrorist.
The Yamam operator was evacuated to Rambam Medical Center Haifa with gunshot wounds.
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In Jenin, IDF troops, together with Shin Bet agents and the Yamam were engaged in a heavy exchange of gunfire with terrorists. According to a Channel 12 News report, 11 Palestinians, including Daoud Zubeidi, the brother of the infamous Palestinian terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi, were wounded in the battle. Zubeidi was one of six terrorists who escaped Gilboa Prison in northern Israel in September and was later caught following a massive manhunt.
According to Palestinian reports, Israeli forces were surrounding a house in the city and two large explosions had been heard.
Residents in the area of Jenin said Israeli forces fired a projectile toward a home in an apparent effort to arrest suspects inside. Palestine TV footage showed black plumes of smoke rising from the house.
Earlier Friday, an IDF soldier shot and wounded a Palestinian terrorist who had thrown a brick at a passing Israeli vehicle near the community of Beit El in Judea and Samaria.
The Palestinian suspect was moderately wounded and taken to Sha'arei Tzedek Medical Center in the capital for treatment. Soldiers who searched his body found a knife and a bottle of acid. There were no Israeli casualties in the incident.
The IDF Spokesperson's Office said army spotters in the area saw the suspect throw the brick at a vehicle with Israeli license plates and try to open the car doors, perhaps intending to carry out a stabbing attack or use the liquid acid on the Israeli passengers.
The soldier, who happened to be at the scene, exited a vehicle and pursued the terrorist on foot, calling for him to surrender. The terrorist, as indicated in video footage released by the IDF, refused the call and instead threatened to throw a rock at the soldier, who neutralized the threat by shooting the terrorist in his leg.
Meanwhile, IDF operations across Judea and Samaria were ongoing Thursday night and into Friday morning amid the recent wave of terror. Two terrorist suspects were arrested in the Palestinian village of Kifl Haris overnight Thursday, and illegal firearms were confiscated during a search operation in Hebron.
Tensions were already at a boiling point following the death of Al-Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin on Wednesday and her planned funeral in Jerusalem on Friday afternoon.
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