JNS
The victim was identified as Shalev Zvuluny, 22, a resident of the Jewish community of Kiryat Arba, who worked as a shopping mall security guard.
Palestinian terrorists killed an Israeli man in his 20s at the Gush Etzion Junction shopping mall in Judea on Thursday afternoon in a combined shooting and stabbing attack, medical authorities said.
The Magen David Adom medical emergency response group said its paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. Two terrorists were "neutralized" on the spot, the statement said.
The victim was identified as Shalev Zvuluny, 22, a resident of the Jewish community of Kiryat Arba near Hebron. He was employed as a security guard at the shopping mall.
The terrorists were named by Arab media as Mahmoud Abed, from the nearby village of Halhul, and Malik Salem, from Tulkarem in Samaria. Both reportedly served in the Palestinian Authority's police forces.
"Two terrorists arrived at the scene and conducted a combined shooting and stabbing attack," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on X.
"IDF soldiers and additional security personnel at the scene fired toward the terrorists and eliminated them," added the military.
MDA medic Ahiad Goharian, who was the first to arrive at the scene, said: "We saw a young man—about 20 years old—lying unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing, with gunshot wounds.
"We performed medical examinations, but unfortunately, his wounds were severe, and we were forced to declare him dead," Goharian said.
From Washington, Netanyahu offers condolences
The Israel Police reported "several casualties with varying degrees of injury" in the attack, saying that its officers were working alongside the IDF and other first responders to "gain full control [of the scene], treat the casualties and conduct searches for additional suspects."
Judea and Samaria District police chief Cmdr. Moshe Pinchi was said to have made his way to the Gush Etzion Junction to evaluate the situation.
Following the terrorist attack, security forces set up roadblocks and encircled the Palestinian village of Halhul, located in the Hebron area about five miles southwest of the Gush Etzion Junction, the IDF said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Gush Etzion Regional Council head Yaron Rosenthal to offer his condolences, his office stated.
Netanyahu "offered condolences on behalf of himself and his wife to the family of the victim of the brutal shooting attack, as well as a speedy recovery to the injured," according to the Prime Minister's Office.
The premier "praised citizens and security forces who acted with great resourcefulness and eliminated the vile terrorists, and said that we will not allow terror to raise its head in Judea and Samaria," the PMO added.
‘An end to the policy of isolated responses’
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar commented on the murder during a press conference in Vienna, where he spoke alongside his Austrian and German counterparts.
"A very short time ago, an Israeli, 20 years old, was killed by a terrorist near the junction of Gush Etzion," the diplomat said in his remarks. "So when there will be a discussion in the E.U. about what is called 'settler violence,' please remember that the public, which is more than any other public in the world, is exposed to terror and violence, are the settlers."
The Yesha Council, which represents the approximate 500,000 Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, mourned the victim and expressed its "support for the security forces operating in the field.
"The government of Israel must put an end to the policy of isolated responses and defeat Arab terror by applying Israeli sovereignty throughout Judea and Samaria, alongside broad-scale military operations," according to the umbrella organization.
The council noted that Judea and Samaria were "the only front among all the war arenas where there has yet to be a strategic shift" since the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, saying "the time has come to change course."
Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times last year, according to figures published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO on Feb. 17.
Twenty-seven Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2024, and more than 300 others were wounded, the group said in its annual report.
