Israeli Forces Kill Terror Suspect

A Palestinian terror suspect was killed on Tuesday morning in Bil'in after clashes with Israeli counter-terrorism forces who were attempting to arrest him. According to an initial report by forces on the ground, the man, identified as Mohammed A'atzi, was one of the people behind the bus bombing in Tel Aviv during Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012. A'atzi, a 28-year-old resident of Beit Lakia in the West Bank, was imprisoned several times in the past due to his involvement in Islamic Jihad. Shin Bet officials said that since the Tel Aviv bus bombing last November in which 29 civilians were wounded, A'atzi was in hiding. Recently, Shin Bet forces were able to locate him. Early Tuesday morning, forces from Israel Police's Yamam counter-terrorism unit came to the Palestinian village in order to arrest A'atzi, but he managed to escape to a cave where he remained for several hours. A'atzi opened fire at the police forces, but they returned fire and shot him to death. During the operation, Israeli forces arrested two Palestinians who were believed to be A'atzi's associates. The first is Mohammed Sais Yalid, 30, and the second is Abdullah Abu A'atzi, 22. The two had served time in Israeli prison in the past for their involvement in Islamic Jihad. They were detained and brought in for questioning by the Shin Bet.