After 3 incidents - West Bank fears a pattern of weapon thefts: "Opens fire, takes no risks"

Terrorists attacked a shepherd from Havat Popper near Meitzad in Gush Etzion this morning, and one of them tried to snatch the weapon of the community's security officer. This is the third attempt to steal a weapon in the West Bank in the past week. The string of incidents has raised alertness among members of standby squads, one of whom said: "I won't be the one whose weapon is taken and who is killed like that."

Palestinian terrorists attacked a shepherd from Havat Popper, near the settlement of Meitzad in Gush Etzion, this morning (Friday), throwing stones at him. The community's security officer, who was called to the scene, arrived, and according to security sources, one of the terrorists got out of his vehicle, ran toward him, and tried to grab his weapon. The incident ended without casualties and without the weapon being stolen. The incident joins two other attempts to steal weapons from security personnel in Judea and Samaria during the past week. The first occurred last Friday at Havat Gilad, when a terrorist tried to grab the weapon of the community's security officer in a deadly attack that ended with the deaths of two Israelis, Maj. Yuval Ezra and Benaya Melt, a member of the Havat Gilad standby squad. The second occurred on Saturday in the Hebron Hills, when an IDF soldier on weekend leave at his farm was attacked by a terrorist who tried to grab his weapon. The string of incidents has raised alertness among standby squad members, who believe this is a recurring method of operation. "I won't be the person whose weapon is taken and who is killed like that," a standby squad member in Judea and Samaria told 'Hayom'. "This has become a pattern of activity. If a Palestinian approaches me, I raise my rifle. If he keeps approaching, I will open fire. This is a life-threatening situation, and my first goal is to stop an attack. I take no unnecessary risks in such times." According to him, following the recent events, standby squad members understand that a suspect must not be allowed to reach contact range, for fear that an attempt to steal a weapon could turn within seconds into a deadly attack.