Troops Arrest Osama Bani Fadl Suspected Of Killing Israeli Father, Son
Israeli troops arrested Osama Bani Fadl, a Palestinian wanted on suspicion of killing an Israeli father and son in a terror attack in the West Bank town of Huwara in August, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency said in a joint statement Sunday.
Shay Silas Nigreker, 60, and his 28-year-old son Aviad Nir, residents of Ashdod, were gunned down at a carwash in the town, south of Nablus.
The arrest came during 24 hours of intense clashes in the West Bank in which eight Palestinians were killed, according to Palestinian health officials.
Bani Fadl was arrested in the Jenin refugee camp during an hours-long operation. The IDF and Shin Bet said he was armed and hiding in an apartment used by local terror operatives.
Troops were searching a home in Jenin when they found Bani Fadl hiding in an attic space, above a door hidden behind a double wall, footage released by the IDF showed. He was found hiding with an M-16 rifle, magazines, and a Hamas flag.
The suspected terrorist’s home in Aqraba, near Nablus, was mapped out for demolition days after the shooting attack.
Nigreker, a native of India, and son Nir, were shot dead by a terrorist who approached on foot and opened fire from close range with a handgun. The gunman then fled.
Huwara has long been a flashpoint in the West Bank, with a main thoroughfare running through the town also being used regularly by Israelis to travel to and from settlements.
In a separate statement, the IDF said other operations were carried out in Jenin. Clashes broke out between Israeli troops and rioters who threw explosive devices. There were also firefights between local gunmen and security forces.
The Jenin raid was spearheaded by soldiers of the 646th Reserve Brigade. Reservists have been used in the West Bank rather than troops of the standing army, as many of Israel’s frontline soldiers are participating in the war that erupted last month against the terror group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The IDF said that in Jenin, troops killed five Palestinian gunmen, wounded others, and arrested 21 wanted Palestinians. It also said a drone strike was carried out against a group of armed Palestinians that had “endangered our forces.”
The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said that five Palestinians were killed in Jenin, and three others were killed in separate areas of the West Bank since Saturday morning. One of those killed, in al-Bireh in the central West Bank, was a teenager, the ministry said.
Palestinian media reported that one person was killed in a drone strike on a house in the Damaj neighborhood of the Jenin refugee camp that also injured four other people. The Wafa news agency reported Sunday that another Palestinian man was shot dead during an IDF raid in the village of Yatma, south of Nablus.
During the Jenin operation, an explosive laboratory was destroyed, the IDF said. Engineering troops also uncovered explosive devices hidden at the sides of and beneath roads. The troops also seized weapons, explosives, and other military and surveillance equipment, the IDF said.
The Palestinian Authority’s Jenin Governorate called for a general strike on Sunday as a mark of mourning, local media reported.
Tensions in the West Bank have been high since October 7, when Hamas led thousands of terrorists in a cross-border attack from Gaza on Israel that killed over 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Terrorists also abducted around 240 people of all ages as captives in the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at destroying Hamas a removing if from power in Gaza.
Since Hamas’s devastating attack on Israel and amid the ensuing war, troops have arrested some 2,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,100 affiliated with Hamas. According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, some 200 West Bank Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, and in some cases settlers.
Jenin has been the focus of a previous large-scale raids by the military during the recent unrest.
The IDF is preparing for a possible escalation of violence following the release of Palestinian prisoners in the exchange deal for abducted Israeli hostages that began over the weekend. A major concern is rioting in villages and cities leading to clashes with security forces as well as possible terror attacks on Israelis traveling on roads in the West Bank.
Troops arrest Palestinian suspected of killing Israeli father, son in terror attack
Israa Jaabis, a Palestinian security prisoner released by Israel, is hugged as she arrives home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, early on November 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
So far, 26 Israeli hostages have been released from Hamas captivity, along with 14 foreign citizens. In exchange, Israel released Palestinian women and underage prisoners held in security cases. The deal also includes a temporary lull in fighting in the Gaza Strip. More hostages are scheduled to be released in the coming days, but the arrangement will still leave most in captivity.
The intensified violence follows more than a year of escalating raids and arrests in the West Bank and deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis. Before the Hamas assault, 2023 already was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank in over two decades.
Add Comment