Four Palestinians reported killed in West Bank anti-terror raids
IDF says three armed Palestinians shot during Jenin clash amid ‘Iron Wall’ operation; PA forces said to take out senior terror operative Abdel Rahman Abu Muna, angering Hamas
Israeli troops killed three armed terrorists and arrested 10 terror suspects in the northern West Bank amid ongoing counterterror operations there, authorities said Tuesday.
Palestinian Authority security forces also killed a senior terror operative in Jenin on Monday night, according to Palestinian media.
Soldiers working together with police special forces and Shin Bet agents “encountered a number of armed terrorists who had barricaded themselves in a building in Jenin, and after an exchange of fire, they killed two of the terrorists and wounded another terrorist,” according to a joint statement from the Israel Defense Forces, the Shin Bet and police.
In a separate incident, also in Jenin, troops from the Duvdevan unit killed a gunman who opened fire on them.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said it had been informed by Israeli authorities “about the martyrdom of two citizens” who were shot dead on Tuesday morning.
The ministry said Fayza Ibrahim Abu Ghali, 58, was “martyred due to the occupation’s aggression on Jenin.” It did not offer further details on how she was killed. When AFP contacted the military about her death, it did not offer an immediate response.
The ministry also said Ahmad Fathi Ahmad Salah, 32, was killed “when he was run over by an occupation vehicle in Jenin.”
Israel said it also arrested terror suspects, among them Liwa Jaz, whom it described as a senior terror operative in the Jenin area.
In addition, troops located two vehicles in Jenin that contained weapons and were intended to be used to carry out attacks and destroyed them, authorities said.
There were no injuries to Israeli forces.
The raid came amid a weeks-long Israeli operation in the West Bank dubbed Iron Wall. The effort, which began in late January, started in Jenin and has since expanded to refugee camps near Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas where Israel says the PA has failed to crack down on terror.
PA forces said to kill senior terrorist in Jenin
According to Palestinian media, PA forces stationed in Jenin killed Abdel Rahman Abu Muna, a senior member of the local Jenin Battalion group, Monday night.
Hamas condemned the assassination Tuesday, calling it a “dangerous escalation” by the Ramallah-based PA.
Hebrew media cited a PA spokesman who claimed that Abu Muna reportedly opened fire on Palestinian security forces, who returned fire and killed him.
In December, PA forces launched a military operation against the Jenin Battalion — a local militia linked to the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups.
Ramallah has struggled to exert control over the northern West Bank, particularly in refugee camps in and around Jenin, Nablus and Tulkarem.
