The Israeli military said troops on Sunday opened fire on a car in which two brothers of Ra’ad Hazem, the terrorist who killed three Israelis in central Tel Aviv last week, are believed to be traveling.
Israeli defense forces said “intelligence indicated the terrorist’s two brothers were in one of the vehicles” seen near a Hazem home in the village of Deir Ghazaleh.
The terrorist’s family has two houses in the area – one in the Jenin refugee camp and another in the nearby village.
The IDF said bullets hit the car driving in the Jenin area, but it eventually fled the area. The army claimed that soldiers had aimed at the tires of the car, but the footage showed smashed windows.
Fathi Hazem, the father of the terrorist, wrote on Facebook that his wife and his younger son were traveling together in the car when soldiers shot at them.
“The army attacked the vehicle directly, I moved the vehicle so they hit its side. They planned to kill, not stop,” Hazem’s brother said in a video circulating on Palestinian social media. He said he was sitting in the car with his mother and 6-year-old brother.
#See The moment of an assassination attempt in #Fetus To the Tel Aviv striker’s brother, Raad Hazem pic.twitter.com/zy9EX1lGHt
– Newpress | New Press (@NewpressPs) April 10, 2022
#See A vehicle shot by the occupying force enters #Fetus pic.twitter.com/bMslVhc9Mv
– Newpress | New Press (@NewpressPs) April 10, 2022
The IDF said another suspect fired at the soldiers from a passing motorcycle during the operation. The soldiers responded with fire and hit the man, the military said.
The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health reported that a Palestinian man was wounded by Israeli bullets in his pelvis during the incident.
Israeli security forces have tried to arrest Ra’ad Hazem’s father and brother for their alleged involvement in the attack. Hazem’s father, Fathi, is a former security prisoner who previously served as an officer in the Palestinian Authority’s security services in Jenin. He has praised his son for the killings and rejected an Israeli summons for questioning.
Tensions have risen sharply between Israel and the Palestinians in recent weeks following repeated terrorist attacks in Israeli cities, leaving 14 dead. The Army has stepped up its activities in the West Bank in an attempt to crack down on the growing violence.
On Saturday night, soldiers raided Palestinian towns across the West Bank in an attempt to quell the violence, arresting 20. Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops during the raids in Tulkarem, Jenin and Jericho, resulting in several injuries.
