IDF shot Palestinian man in alleged ramming attempt but did not detain him, Army Radio reports

The Israeli military seriously wounded a Palestinian man it says tried to ram soldiers near Hebron on Friday, but then failed to take him into custody, Army Radio reported on Sunday.

The incident took place near Kafr Dura, shortly after the deadly attack in Hebron that killed Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem. Three other people were lightly wounded in that attack, and two terrorists were killed during the confrontation. The IDF has said no additional attackers were involved.

According to Army Radio, it sought clarification from the military on Friday, but the IDF only responded on Sunday. In that response, the military said soldiers operating in the area "spotted a vehicle driving suspiciously and accelerated toward them, and in response, opened fire."

Despite asserting that the man had attempted to run over its soldiers, the IDF did not detain him for questioning, Army Radio reported. The military told the outlet it was reviewing the matter, but reportedly did not answer further questions about why the Palestinian was never arrested.

The disclosure comes as Israeli security forces carry out a sweeping operation in the Hebron area in the wake of Friday's attack. The IDF and the Shin Bet have forcibly evacuated some 2,000 Palestinians from the area and destroyed an unspecified number of structures nearby.

In a statement on Friday night, the IDF said it had launched a counterterrorism operation in the Hebron area following that morning's deadly Hamas attack. According to a joint statement, security forces are conducting systematic searches for terrorist infrastructure and weapons and are questioning dozens of suspects.

Other measures carried out since Friday morning include mapping the terrorists' homes, sealing off the Hebron and Halhul areas, setting up roadblocks, and operating in nearby villages. Security forces are also removing illegal infrastructure that the military says could pose a security threat near the site of the attack.

The IDF has offered little detail about the offenses of the roughly 2,000 evacuated Palestinians, saying only that they were familially connected to the Hamas-linked Gaza clan. It said it demolished illegally built structures that could make security operations harder to carry out, but was vague about what those operations entailed and why entire buildings had to be destroyed.

Pressed on how many members of the hamula, or clan, have records linking them to terrorism or at a minimum to rock throwing, multiple IDF sources did not appear to have specific information on the matter.

The operation appeared to be driven by public statements from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz about clearing or destroying the neighborhood of the two men involved in Friday's attack, in what the report described as an apparent collective punishment measure.