June 2010 West Bank shooting

The 14 June 2010 West Bank shooting was a Palestinian terror attack near Hebron West bank. Israeli police officer Yehoshua Sofer was killed and three others were wounded in the attack.

Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades, an armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party, claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it was a response to the recent Gaza flotilla raid. A previously unknown group calling itself the "Freedom Flotilla's Martyrs" claimed responsibility as well, and vowed a series of future attacks.

Two weeks earlier, gunmen from Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades had injured two Israeli civilians in a shooting attack on the same road and for the same stated reason. However, this was the first fatal Palestinian shooting attack on Israelis in the West Bank since school teacher Meir Hai was shot in the head by Fatah gunmen on 24 December 2009.

Attack

Five Israeli police officers were driving northwards in a police vehicle on Route 60 in the West Bank, on their way to duty stations in Hebron. Two of the officers were Command Sergeant Major Yehoshua (Shuki) Sofer and Command Sergeant Major Mordechai Danon. As they were passing near the al-Fawar junction, south of Beit Hagai and about 10 kilometers southwest of Kiryat Arba, they were ambushed by Palestinian gunmen who shot at them with heavy fire from close range, apparently with multiple machine guns. The attack took place six miles from the Dahariya crossing, where the Israel Defense Forces had removed a checkpoint three weeks previously.

According to Danon, the commander in the vehicle ordered the driver to speed away from the scene, and the driver drove and reported the incident at the same time, despite being wounded by gunshots. The driver stated that the officers continued driving on Road 60 until they were met by rescue forces, who gave them initial medical treatment and evacuated them to the hospitals. At 7:18 A.M. the initial distress call from the vehicle was received.

Meanwhile, the assailants apparently drove to the nearby Palestinian town of Dir Ibzah, left their car there and hid among the area's olive trees.

Victims

Sofer was rushed from the scene to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem by a Magen David Adom helicopter, in critical contdition. Approximately two hours later, he died from his wounds. Sofer was a 39-year-old police veteran resident of Beersheba wo had served 19 years on the Hebron police force. He was survived by three sisters, one of them his twin, and a brother. He was engaged to Einav Blum, and had planned to marry her on 20 September.

The other victims were taken to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba. One was moderately injured after being shot in the chest. The two others were lightly injured, one from gunshots and one from shrapnel.

Response

Israeli police and army forces were immediately dispatched to the area in search of the shooters. The Israel Defense Forces instructed residents of nearby settlements Otniel and Beit Hagai to remain inside their homes until the end of the search. Accordign to the New York Times, a number of members of the military wing of Hamas were arrested on charges of responsibility for the shooting.

Claims of responsibility

A group calling itself the "Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades - Imad Mughniyeh Group" claimed responsibility for the killing. The faction, named afer a Hezbollah leader assassinated in Damascus in 2007, had released similar announcements after previous terror attacks. However, according to Israeli journalists Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel, it is unclear whether any such group really exists. They argue that the label could be a cover used as a decoy to divert the attention of Israeli authorities.

A previously unknown group calling itself the "Freedom Flotilla's Martyrs" (referring to the Gaza flotilla raid) also claimed responsibility for the killing and vowed further attacks. In a satement, it said: "Our mujahedeen group in south Hebron ambushed an Israeli police car near Beit Hagai at 7:15 am and opened heavy fire at it from close range... Our fighters managed to withdraw from the scene peacefully. Our response will continue, we will not forsake our weapons as long as the Zionist military is in our lands, and we will not acknowledge any ceasefire."

Palestinian Islamic Jihad praised the attack, which they said "proved Palestinian fighters are keen on resistance ... all Palestinians have the right to resist and the right to reject negotiations," a statement by the group read.

Statements

Israeli Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch released a statement saying, "Today we have seen that the relative quiet is deceitful and we cannot know when it will be broken. I send my condolences to the family of First Sergeant Shuki Sofer, and I hope the injured will recover swiftly." He added that the police, IDF and Shin Bet would "do everything to quickly capture those responsible for this terrorist attack."

Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen said, "We hope the Israel Police, the general security service and the army will do all in their power to stop the cell which is still walking around freely."

Yesha Council Director Naftali Benett said, "This attack shows that the resolve of terrorists to destroy any sense of peace and tranquility in these areas remains unabated... This brutal act is a clear indicator to the Israeli authorities that we need to reinforce policies that will best protect our citizens and our security services against all acts of terror."

Har Hebron Regional Council Head Zviki Bar Hai said, "The [killed and injured] policemen are the victims of [Prime Minister] Bibi [Netanyahu] and [Defense Minister Ehud] Barak's calculated prevention policy."

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said, "Experience has shown that violence harms the Palestinian national cause".

See also

• Tapuah junction stabbing