An IDF soldier was shot early Wednesday morning in Jenin, less than a day after Israeli-Arab Knesset Member Ahmed Tibi encouraged supporters in the Palestinian Authority city to break free of “foreign occupation.”
The attack occurred when terrorists ambushed a Golani Brigade unit as it carried out a routine patrol in the predawn hours. The soldier, who was shot in the shoulder, was treated by medics at the scene before being evacuated to HaEmek Hospital in Afula, where he is listed in "moderate" condition.
Tibi had given a speech in the same neighborhood less than 24 hours earlier at a protest marking the fifth anniversary of the IDF's anti-terror Operation Defensive Shield. Numerous IDF soldiers were killed during that offensive, which involved several days of heavy house-to-house fighting with terrorists, focusing on eliminating terror cells in Jenin, Ramallah, Shechem, and Bethlehem.
Members of Islamic Jihad were present at Tuesday’s rally in Jenin, dressed as suicide bombers. Several young children were dressed in military uniforms, and were given machine guns as well.
Tibi told terrorists and their supporters at the rally that Arabs in Jenin are under foreign occupation, and that it is their right to break free of that occupation.
“The Palestinian people wants peace, which must be based on freedom achieved through an end to the occupation,” said Tibi. “Specifically on the Passover holiday, I say to the Israelis that freedom is the right of every nation, including a nation that is under foreign occupation and rule.”
More than 20 suicide bombers have originated in the neighborhood where the rally was held. The area was also the scene of some of the fiercest fighting during the April 2002 operation, during which IDF troops cleaned out a nest in which several hundred gunmen were holed up.
Jenin Mayor Kadura Musa presented Tibi with an award and praised the Arab MK for supporting the city’s residents during the Defensive Shield operation.
The attack occurred when terrorists ambushed a Golani Brigade unit as it carried out a routine patrol in the predawn hours. The soldier, who was shot in the shoulder, was treated by medics at the scene before being evacuated to HaEmek Hospital in Afula, where he is listed in "moderate" condition.
Tibi had given a speech in the same neighborhood less than 24 hours earlier at a protest marking the fifth anniversary of the IDF's anti-terror Operation Defensive Shield. Numerous IDF soldiers were killed during that offensive, which involved several days of heavy house-to-house fighting with terrorists, focusing on eliminating terror cells in Jenin, Ramallah, Shechem, and Bethlehem.
Members of Islamic Jihad were present at Tuesday’s rally in Jenin, dressed as suicide bombers. Several young children were dressed in military uniforms, and were given machine guns as well.
Tibi told terrorists and their supporters at the rally that Arabs in Jenin are under foreign occupation, and that it is their right to break free of that occupation.
“The Palestinian people wants peace, which must be based on freedom achieved through an end to the occupation,” said Tibi. “Specifically on the Passover holiday, I say to the Israelis that freedom is the right of every nation, including a nation that is under foreign occupation and rule.”
More than 20 suicide bombers have originated in the neighborhood where the rally was held. The area was also the scene of some of the fiercest fighting during the April 2002 operation, during which IDF troops cleaned out a nest in which several hundred gunmen were holed up.
Jenin Mayor Kadura Musa presented Tibi with an award and praised the Arab MK for supporting the city’s residents during the Defensive Shield operation.