Two Palestinian Intelligence Officers Killed By Israeli Troops

JAKARTA - Two Palestinian Authority Military Intelligence officers were killed in a shootout with Israeli troops, allegedly as victims of mistargeting during an arrest operation in the northern West Bank, Wednesday night, June 9 local time.

In addition to the two, a Palestinian suspected of being a member of a terror group that was the target of an Israeli arrest operation was also killed in the crossfire. While the target of the second operation was injured and secured.

According to Palestinian media, as quoted by the Times of Israel, the shootout began when officers in the counterterrorism unit of the Yamam Border Police, attempted to arrest two Palestinian terror suspects outside the headquarters of the PA Military Intelligence Unit headquarters in Jenin, West Bank.

The Palestinian Military Intelligence officers on guard duty watched the arrest operation take place, with Israeli forces operating from civilian vehicles and opting to get involved.

The Israeli Border Police said the arrest operation targeted two suspects in a series of shootings in recent weeks who were hiding in a building adjacent to a military intelligence complex.

The gunfight alerted nearby Palestinian security officers, who joined the fray. Given the undercover Israeli forces' civilian attire, it was not immediately clear whether PA officers realized when they opened fire that Israeli security forces were pursuing the suspects.

The security officers killed in the shootout were identified by the Palestinian Authority as Lieutenant Adham Aliwi, 23, from the village of Zawata near Nablus, and Captain Taysir Issa, 33, from the town of Sanur near Jenin.

Meanwhile, the third person who died was one of the targets of the operation, Jamil Al-Amouri. The second suspect, Wisam Abu Zeid, was injured. Both are believed by Israel to be responsible for several shooting attacks in recent months. No Israeli soldiers were injured in the incident.

Unconfirmed reports say Israeli forces arrested two people during the operation. It is not clear whether the surviving suspect, Abu Zeid, is one of them.

A senior commander in the PA security forces told the Palestinian news website Al Quds, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) did not alert its soldiers about the arrest operation in Jenin.

Typically, Israeli forces coordinate their entry into Palestinian cities with PA security forces to allow the latter to retreat and avoid mistakes and mistargeting. However, miscommunication has occurred in the past, leading to IDF soldiers mistakenly targeting PA troops, mistaking them for terrorists.

To note, last night's incident came less than a month after Israeli soldiers mistakenly opened fire on two PA intelligence officers they thought were terrorists, as they stopped at Tapuah Junction in the northern West Bank.

Ahmad Daraghme, a resident of the West Bank town of Laban al-Sharqiya near Nablus, died at the scene. His colleague Mohammad al-Nubani was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.