A Palestinian assailant accused of being behind a deadly car-ramming attack in May 2024 was killed by counterterrorism police in the West Bank city of Nablus on Monday evening, the Israel Defense Forces, Shin Bet, and Israel Police said.
On May 29, 2024, Abdel-Raouf Shatyeh rammed his vehicle into an Israeli army post just outside Nablus, killing two soldiers: Staff Sgt. Eliya Hilel, and Staff Sgt. Diego Shvisha Harsaj, both 20-year-old infantrymen in the Kfir Brigade’s Nahshon Battalion.
During a raid on Monday night, officers of the police’s elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit closed in on a building in eastern Nablus where Shatyeh was holed up.
After it emerged that he was armed, the troops opened fire on the building, and later, using a drone, identified that he had been killed, police said.
The IDF and Shin Bet said that they had been working to track down Shatyeh since he fled the scene of the attack in 2024.
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the terms
After the attack, Shatyeh fled to Nablus and initially turned himself over to the Palestinian Authority’s security forces. However, instead of being handed over to Israel, he was freed from the PA’s custody, and he had been wanted ever since.
In addition, several “accomplices” who were working with Shatyeh were detained by IDF soldiers in Nablus, the military added.
This composite image shows Staff Sgt. Diego Shvisha Harsaj and Staff Sgt. Eliya Hilel of the Kfir Brigade’s Nahshon Battalion, who were killed in a car-ramming attack outside the West Bank city of Nablus on May 29, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Violence in the West Bank has soared since the Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war in October 2023.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the war started, according to the PA health ministry. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 63 others, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another eight members of the security forces were killed in clashes during raids in Palestinian cities in the West Bank.
The same period has also seen a major surge in attacks by settler extremists on Palestinians across the West Bank.
Watch DocuNation Season 3: The Heart of Israel
when you join the ToI Community
In this season of DocuNation, you can stream six outstanding Israeli documentaries with English subtitles and then join a live online discussion with the filmmakers. The selected films show Israel beyond the conflict: a place of storytellers and musicians, of dreamers, makers, and communities rooted in meaning and trust.
When you watch DocuNation, you’re also supporting Israeli creators at a time when it’s increasingly difficult for them to share their work globally.
To learn more about DocuNation: The Heart of Israel, click here.
Support ToI and get DocuNation
Support ToI and get DocuNation
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You appreciate our journalism
You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel