American Citizen Fatally Shot in Violence in West Bank: US State Department

Israeli Border police officers walk outside the house of Palestinian gunman Khaire Alkam in A-Tur in East Jerusalem, after Alkam shot and killed seven people near a synagogue in Neve Yaacov, on Jan. 28, 2023. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)

An American citizen was shot and killed in the West Bank on Monday during the continued unrest between Israelis and Palestinians in the area, the U.S. State Department confirmed.

The Israeli-American man was killed when gunmen opened fire near the West Bank city of Jericho, according to Reuters, which reported that the killing was one of several shootings conducted by Palestinians along a highway near Jericho.

The Israeli army said the suspected Palestinian attackers opened fire at an Israeli car near Jericho, hitting the motorist.

Palestinian groups have not yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

The gunfire came just hours after Jewish settlers rampaged through the Palestinian village of Huwara on Sunday night, setting fire to homes and other buildings, damaging vehicles, and attacking Palestinians. A 37-year-old Palestinian man was killed in the rampage and dozens more were injured.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the raids “terrorist acts.”

“The United States is extremely concerned by the events of this weekend and the continuing violence in Israel and the West Bank,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters during a press briefing Monday.

“As we noted yesterday, we condemn the horrific killing of two Israeli brothers near Nablus and the killing today of an Israeli near Jericho, who we understand was also an American citizen. We express our deepest condolences to all of the victims’ families and their loved ones.”

Victim Identified

“We also condemn the widescale, indiscriminate violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians following the killing,” Price added. “The attacks reportedly led to the death of one Palestinian man, more than 300 residents injured—four seriously—and the torching of an estimated 30 Palestinian homes and cars. These actions are completely unacceptable. The United States extends its deepest condolences to those affected by this violence.”

Separately, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides confirmed on Twitter that a U.S. citizen was killed in what he called a “terror attack in the West Bank tonight.”

“I pray for his family,” Nides wrote.

Neither the ambassador nor the State Department identified the Israeli-American who was killed, but The Times of Israel identified him as 27-year-old Elan Ganeles, an Israel Defense Forces veteran originally from West Hartford, Connecticut.

Emergency responders reportedly arrived at the scene where Ganeles was shot, close to the Nevo military base, and found him in critical condition before taking him to the Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, where he was later declared dead.

“The injured person was evacuated during resuscitation efforts which also continued at the hospital, but unfortunately the staff had to pronounce him dead,” the hospital said in a statement to The Times of Israel.

The Israeli consulate in San Francisco also identified the victim as Ganeles on Twitter and said he was a recent graduate of Columbia University in New York.

Sunday night’s attack on Huwara came shortly after the killing of two Israeli brothers, Hallel Yaniv, 21, and Yagel Yaniv, 19, from the Jewish settlement of Har Bracha by a Palestinian gunman.

The shooter fled the scene shortly after opening fire, according to officials.

Large groups of Israelis then set fires and threw stones along a main road in Hawara, which is used by both Palestinians and Israeli settlers, setting fire to dozens of cars and buildings.

A 37-year-old Palestinian man, identified as Sameh Hamdallah Mahmoud Aqtash, was shot and killed, allegedly by Israeli fire, during the incident, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

Israeli President, PM Condemn Attack

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called the attack on Hawara “a terrorist act carried out by Israeli settlers, under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces,” in a statement.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Israeli settlers “not to take the law into their own hands.” Israeli President Isaac Herzog echoed his remarks, adding that “violence against innocent people is not our way.”

During Sunday’s press conference, Price said the United States appreciates Netanyahu and Herzog’s statements calling for a “cessation of this vigilante violence.”

“We expect the Israeli government to ensure full accountability and legal prosecution of those responsible for these attacks, in addition to compensation for the lost homes and property,” Price said. “Accountability and justice should be pursued with equal rigor in all cases of extremist violence, and equal resources dedicated to prevent such attacks and bring those responsible to justice.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.