West Bank – The Israeli military says it has recovered an assault rifle believed to have been used by Palestinian militants in the shooting attack that killed an Israeli settler couple in the West Bank last week.
The military says the perpetrators confessed to hiding the weapon in a shop owned by a member of the group responsible for the attack. Overnight, forces found the weapon in the shop in the West Bank city of Nablus, the military says.
The current rash of violence began Thursday when Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli couple in their car near a settlement in the West Bank as their four children watched from the backseat.
Israeli authorities on Monday said they arrested five Palestinians affiliated with the Islamic militant group Hamas who plotted and carried out the attack. The militants opened fire from their vehicle on the Israeli family’s car, and after the car stopped, two Palestinians approached the car and fired at the couple from close range, Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said.
The Israel Radio reported it has obtained official Palestinian government documents confirming hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to prisoners convicted in some of the deadliest attacks on Israelis.
Tuesday’s report comes after days of violent clashes and repeated Israeli accusations of Palestinian incitement to violence.
Palestinians have long acknowledged paying support to the families of prisoners held by Israel, but payments personally to prisoners convicted in deadly attacks have never been made public.
Israel Radio claims the documents show the hefty sums given to those serving multiple life sentences in Israeli prisons. They include Hamas militants behind suicide bombings that killed dozens of Israelis.
Ashraf al-Ajrami, a former Palestinian minister for prisoners, confirmed the report, saying the prisoners are “heroes” and the money is for their families.
Meanwhile, A U.S. State Department spokesman says the a man killed along with his wife was an American citizen.
Mark Toner said that Eitam Henkin was a U.S citizen.
He spoke after Israel announced it had arrested 5 members of a Hamas cell that carried the bloody attack.
As reported by Vos Iz Neias