Gunfire reported as Israeli forces carry out raids across northern West Bank
Israeli security forces carried out large-scale raids on Sunday morning in Jenin, the nearby Palestinian village of Ya’bad and the Balata refugee camp near Nablus.
Ya’bad was the home of Palestinian terrorist Diaa Hamarsheh who entered Israel illegally from the village and went on a shooting rampage in Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv on March 28, murdering five people.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that troops were carrying out operations in the area of Jenin but gave no further details.
According to reports, gunmen opened fire toward Israeli troops, sparking a firefight.
One Palestinian was reportedly wounded — there were no details on his condition.
Meanwhile, Palestinian rioters apparently entered Joseph’s Tomb near the city of Nablus and vandalized the shrine overnight.
According to Channel 13 news, around 100 Palestinians entered the site and smashed objects inside. Scorch marks could also be seen in photos from the scene. The tomb is venerated by Jews, Christians and Muslims, and has often been a flashpoint for violence.
Palestinians broke into Joseph’s Tomb, a place holy for Jews, outside of Nablus and vandalized it pic.twitter.com/ck9mFnzLyT
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) April 10, 2022
Sunday’s operations came a day after Israeli forces raided the Jenin home of the terrorist who carried out the deadly shooting attack in Tel Aviv on Thursday night, killing three people.
According to the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry, one Palestinian was killed and at least 13 others were wounded in the clashes.
The dead Palestinian was named as Ahmed as-Saadi, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad gunman from the Jenin refugee camp. His M16 rifle was seized by IDF troops.
Israeli security forces and emergency personnel at the scene of a terrorist attack on March 28, 2022, in Bnei Brak in which five people were killed. (Jack Guez / AFP)
Security forces said three people were arrested in the raid, including a gunman who was seriously wounded in a firefight and taken by military helicopter to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa for treatment.
According to reports, the military sought to arrest the father of Ra’ad Hazem, the terrorist who killed three people when he opened fire at a Tel Aviv bar on Thursday evening, but he was not home at the time of the operation.
Hazem’s father, Fathi, is a former security prisoner who previously served as an officer in the Palestinian Authority’s security services in Jenin. He has refused an Israeli request to be questioned.
On Friday, Fathi praised his son’s actions to a crowd gathered in front of the family home. “Your eyes will see the victory soon. You will see the change. You will achieve your freedom… God, liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the desecration of the occupiers,” Fathi said, according to footage.
Fathi Hazem, the father of Raad Hazem, a Palestinian terrorist who killed three Israelis and wounded several others in Tel Aviv the previous night, hugs a friend at his home on April 8, 2022 in the West Bank city of Jenin. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Hazem went on the run after the attack and was found hiding near a mosque in Jaffa after an hours-long manhunt involving hundreds of security officers. While initially raising his hands in surrender, Hazem reportedly then drew a gun and opened fire on the officers, who fired back and killed him.
According to the Palestinian reports, the troops in Jenin on Saturday gathered evidence from the Hazem family home and questioned other relatives at the scene.
The reports said that relatives of Hazem are suspected of assisting him in preparations for the attack as well as helping him carry it out.
The Shin Bet security agency has said Hazem had “no clear organizational affiliation, no security background and no previous arrests.”
In addition to the searches, the Hazem family home was mapped out by troops ahead of a potential demolition.
According to Palestinian media reports, the terrorist’s family has two houses in the area — one in the Jenin refugee camp and another in the village of Deir Ghazaleh.
The raids came hours after Israel Defense Forces chief Aviv Kohavi said the military will ramp up activities in the northern West Bank, following several deadly terror incidents involving Palestinians from the Jenin region and as officials reportedly believe the Palestinian Authority is losing control of the area.
Kohavi instructed the IDF to expand and increase offensive operations in the West Bank, especially in northern towns from which recent terrorists came.
An aerial view of the Jenin refugee camp. (AP Photo/David Silverman, Pool)
According to the Kan public broadcaster, the Palestinian Authority is being challenged for control of the area around Jenin by both the Islamic Jihad terror group and members of Fatah, the Palestinian faction ostensibly led by PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israeli officials want the PA to crack down on terror in the area, but fear it will not be able to, according to Friday news reports.
Last week, Israeli troops attempted to arrest a team of terrorists on its way to an attack. Three Islamic Jihad members were killed in the ensuing firefight near Jenin and four Israeli soldiers were injured.
On Saturday, the IDF announced that three further troop companies will be sent to reinforce defensive operations in the “seam zone” border area along the Green Line separating Israel and the West Bank.
There are many gaps in the West Bank barrier, and the IDF has dispatched thousands of troops in recent weeks to the seam zone area to prevent Palestinians from crossing into Israel.
The three victims of a terror attack in Tel Aviv on April 7, 2022. From left: Tomer Morad, Eytam Magini and Barak Lufen. (Courtesy)
Other attacks in recent weeks in Hadera and Beersheba, by Arab Israelis thought to have been inspired by the Islamic State, left six others dead.
The escalation has come amid the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — often a period of high tension in Israel and the West Bank. Israel has ramped up security measures in response to the attacks and deployed additional forces to the West Bank, Gaza border and major cities such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Aaron Boxerman contributed to this report.
