On September 11, Staff Sergeant Geri Gideon Hanghal, a 24-year-old Indian-origin Israeli soldier from the Bnei Menashe community, was tragically killed in a vehicle-ramming attack near the Beit El settlement in the West Bank. The attack unfolded when a truck, bearing a Palestinian license plate, veered off a busy highway and crashed into an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) guard post adjacent to a bus stop. The vehicle was reportedly driven by 58-year-old Hayil Dhaifallah from Rafat, a town in the central West Bank.
Hanghal, who had immigrated to Israel from India in 2020, was a member of the Kfir Brigade’s Nahshon Battalion at the time of the attack. The Bnei Menashe community, to which Hanghal belonged, has been significantly affected by the incident. The Bnei Menashe, who claim descent from one of the "lost tribes" of Israel, have a long history of immigration to Israel. About 5,000 members of this community have moved to Israel, with nearly 1,500 arriving in the past five years, while approximately 5,500 still reside in India and await immigration.
The attack has occurred against the backdrop of escalating violence in the West Bank. This includes a series of attempted suicide bombings and shooting incidents claimed by the Islamic Hamas, which launched a major attack on Israel on October 7 last year, leading to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. In response, Israel has intensified its counter-terrorism operations in the West Bank, conducting over 70 airstrikes since October 7, using drones, attack helicopters, and fighter jets. The IDF has targeted members of terror cells and other perceived threats, further fueling the already tense situation.
Local media reports suggest growing concern among Israeli defense officials that the violence in the West Bank could escalate into a broader conflict. The situation has been aggravated by attacks from hardline Israeli settlers in the central and northern West Bank, including recent violent incidents targeting Palestinian communities. For instance, a fiery rampage last month in a Palestinian village resulted in the death of a Palestinian man who tried to confront the rioters.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) health ministry has reported that more than 670 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since October 7 in the West Bank, which remains under PA control. The IDF has stated that most of those killed were gunmen engaged in exchanges of fire, rioters clashing with troops, or terrorists involved in attacks. Additionally, Israel has arrested around 5,000 Palestinians across the West Bank over the past eleven months, including more than 2,000 individuals linked to Hamas.Â
This ongoing cycle of violence and retaliation underscores the deeply entrenched and volatile nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with both sides grappling with the profound human and political ramifications.
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