Palestinian Shot Dead in Jerusalem Identified as PA Security Officer
Bethlehem, Jumadal Awwal 1437/16 February 2016 (MINA) – One of two Palestinians shot dead after an attempted armed attack in Jerusalem on Sunday night has been identified as a Palestinian Authority security officer, local Palestinian sources told Ma’an.
Mansour Yasser Abdul-Aziz Shawamrah, 20, was an officer in a special brigade in the PA security forces, sources said.
The second Palestinian shot dead during the incident was identified as Omar Ahmad Omar, 20. Both men were from the central occupied West Bank village of al-Qubeiba.
A Palestinian security spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
The two were shot dead outside Damascus Gate on Sunday after attempting to carry out an armed attack on Israeli police forces, Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) reported, quoting Ma’an.
Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said police stationed in the area became suspicious of “a young Arab with a bag” who they asked to halt and throw the bag aside.
Samri said that the man pulled an automatic weapon from the bag before police officers shot him dead. The second Palestinian was shot dead when he opened fire in their direction shortly afterward.
Samri said explosives and a knife were found in the bag. The two were reportedly using homemade rifles.
The incident was the third deadly encounter on Sunday, with five Palestinians killed after allegedly attempting to carry out attacks on Israelis. No Israelis were injured in any of the incidents.
It was also the third documented incident of a PA officer committing a lone attack against Israeli forces since a recent wave of unrest swept the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel in October.
On Jan. 31, a PA staff sergeant from Nablus was shot dead after shooting and injuring three Israeli soldiers at an Israeli military checkpoint around the illegal Israeli settlement of Beit El in the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah.
Hamas hailed the incident as a “heroic resistance operation,” saying that it represented “the rejection of security coordination with the occupation, even among members of the PA security forces.”
On Dec. 3, a man identified as Mazin Hasan Ureiba was shot and killed after opening fire on Israeli soldiers stationed near the Hizma military checkpoint north of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank that left two injured.
Ureiba was an officer in the PA general intelligence service and the nephew of PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat. (T/R07/R01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
