A 21-year-old Israeli sergeant was killed on Tuesday after a large rock was thrown at his head during a predawn raid in a Palestinian town, the Israeli Defence Forces confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.
IDF spokesman Hidai Zilberman said that Staff Sgt. Amit Ben Yigal was taking part in an operation in Ya'bad, in northern West Bank, to arrest four Palestinians suspected of terrorism and stone-throwing.
When the Israeli soldiers were escorting the four suspects, someone hurled the rock off a rooftop at Ben Yigal at around 4:30 a.m. local time. Despite the soldier wearing a helmet, he was heavily wounded and was later pronounced dead in a hospital.
This is 21-year-old IDF Staff Sgt. Amit Ben Yigal of Ramat Gan, Israel. He was killed early this morning when hit in the head by a rock thrown at him during an arrest operation in the West Bank. May his memory be a blessing. 🕯️ pic.twitter.com/D4LUKgc3S2
— Avi Mayer (@AviMayer) May 12, 2020
Ben Yigal, who was posthumously promoted to sergeant first class, has become the first IDF death in action of this year. The military said they had launched an investigation and troops were operating in the village searching for those who threw the rock.
What was the reaction?
Several top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin, condemned the attack and offered their condolences to the soldier's family.
No group has claimed responsibility for his death yet, although Gaza's Hamas praised the attack in a statement.
"The incident proves the ability of our people in the West Bank to continue their struggle against the occupation until the Israeli military and the settlements are pushed out," the militant group said.
The most recent similar killing was in May 2018, when a Palestinian dropped a marble slab at IDF commando Ronen Lubarsky during an arrest raid in a Palestinian refugee camp near Ramallah. The Palestinian, Islam Yusuf Hamid, was arrested a month later and sentenced to life in prison last year.
On the cusp of big change
Tuesday's raid came a day before the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He is expected to meet with Netanyahu and his bitter rival-turned-ally Benny Gantz to discuss the de facto annexation of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Palestinians are seeking an independent state on the West Bank and Gaza on the Mediterranean coast, which are considered to be occupied by the United Nations. Multiple rounds of negotiations over decades have rendered that goal all but unattainable due to differences over what the status of Jerusalem or demilitarisation of Palestinians, as well as an intra-Palestinian rivalry between Hamas and Fatah.
Netanyahu is scheduled to swear in his new government on Thursday. A coalition agreement he struck with Gantz allows him to present his plan for annexation to the government as early as 1 July.
