Victim of terror attack on Sunday identified as Yehuda Guetta of Jerusalem; IDF apprehends suspected gunman during raid on house in village where he was hiding out

Yehuda Guetta, 19, was killed in a drive-by shooting in the West Bank (courtesy)
Yehuda Guetta, 19, was killed in a drive-by shooting in the West Bank (courtesy)

 

A 19-year-old student who was shot in the head in a drive-by shooting attack at Tapuah Junction in the West Bank earlier this week has died of his injuries, the hospital treating him announced Wednesday night.

Less than an hour later, the Shin Bet security announced that it had apprehended the suspect in the attack.

Yehuda Guetta, a Jerusalem resident, was among three students shot at the bus stop on Sunday in the northern West Bank terror attack.

All three were studying in a religious seminary in the nearby settlement of Itamar. Guetta is survived by his parents, four brothers and two sisters. His funeral was set to take place Thursday morning at 11 a.m. local time at the Givat Shaul cemetery.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz each offered their condolences in separate statements shortly after Beilinson Hospital announced Guetta’s death. “These are difficult moments for the Guetta family and the entire nation of Israel is with them in their grief,” the premier said.

The two other injured students were Benaya Peretz, 19, from Beit She’an, who was shot in the back, and remains in very serious condition, and Amichai Hala from Safed, also 19, who has been released from the hospital to recover from his wounds at home.

Photo from scene of a shooting attack at Tapuah Junction in the West Bank, May 2, 2021 (Samaria Regional Council)
Photo from scene of a shooting attack at Tapuah Junction in the West Bank, May 2, 2021 (Samaria Regional Council)

 

The Shin Bet identified the arrested suspect as 44-year-old Muntasir Shalabi from the central West Bank town of Turmus Aya. He is not believed to have ties to any terror groups.

Muntasir Shalabi, suspect in the West Bank drive-by shooting on May 1, 2021. (Courtesy)
Muntasir Shalabi, suspect in the West Bank drive-by shooting on May 1, 2021. (Courtesy)

The arrest took place in a joint operation with the IDF which raided a building in the nearby village of Silwad where Shalabi was hiding out earlier Wednesday evening.

Several other suspected accomplices have been arrested by the Israel Defense Forces in connection with the attack amid an ongoing manhunt.

Early Tuesday, security forces also arrested a number of other people in Aqraba. The detainees were suspected of aiding the gunman, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

Israeli soldiers and police at the scene of shooting attack in Tapuah Junction, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on May 2, 2021 (Sraya Diamant/Flash90)
Israeli soldiers and police at the scene of shooting attack in Tapuah Junction, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on May 2, 2021 (Sraya Diamant/Flash90)

 

On Monday, forces seized the vehicle believed to have been used in attack, but not before it was set aflame by Palestinian protesters who clashed with the troops at the scene.

The attack came amid heightened tensions in the West Bank after the Palestinian Authority announced it was indefinitely delaying elections planned for later this month, blaming the decision on ostensible Israeli refusal to allow PA voting in East Jerusalem.

The IDF also bolstered its forces in the West Bank for the month of Ramadan, a period that regularly sees an uptick in violence.

Sunday’s shooting was followed by several apparent retaliatory attacks by Israeli settlers, including the storming of a Palestinian village in the predawn hours of Monday morning, where they threw rocks and stun grenades and started fires.

Clashes broke out between the residents of Jaloud village and the Israelis from the nearby Shiloh settlement, whereupon IDF soldiers and Border Police attempted to break up the fighting by firing rubber-coated bullets and other riot dispersal weapons at the Palestinians, injuring four of them. Eleven Palestinian residents of the village were arrested by the IDF. No settlers were arrested. Several police vehicles’ tires were punctured by the Israelis.

Medics at the scene of shooting attack in Tapuah Junction, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on May 2, 2021 (Sraya Diamant/Flash90)
Medics at the scene of shooting attack in Tapuah Junction, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on May 2, 2021 (Sraya Diamant/Flash90)

 

As reported by The Times of Israel