IDF arrests 10 Palestinians over terror attack in which rabbi was killed
Army says raid jointly conducted with police, Shin Bet, while 27 more detained in crackdown on weapons workshops
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces arrested 10 people in the West Bank town of Dura overnight Sunday-Monday, in connection with the murder of an Israeli rabbi in a drive-by shooting last month.
The detainees include the relatives of the terrorist who killed Miki Mark, 48, as well as others suspected of helping Muhammad al-Fakih hide after he carried out the deadly attack.
The Israeli security forces also carried out widespread security operations across the West Bank overnight, tracking down weapons workshops and arms dealers. A total of 27 people were arrested in the sweep.
All of those arrested overnight were taken in for questioning by security forces.
In Qalqilya, the IDF raided a workshop used to make improvised weapons, in a joint operation with the Border Police and Shin Bet security service. Three lathes and 3 drills were seized.
In Nablus, troops arrested Mahayub Borhan Rashad Knaza, a local resident who the army said was “active” in the Palestinian security services and one of the most prominent arms traders and manufacturers in the city.
The army issued images of some of the weapons and equipment it seized, including a Karl Gustav improvised submachine gun, a pistol, and ammunition.
The detainees include four suspected members of Hamas terror group and two from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror organization.
Fakih — who went on the run after the July 1 shooting that murdered Rabbi Mark and seriously wounded his wife — was killed Wednesday in a standoff with security forces in the West Bank village of Surif, north of Hebron.
The army said last week that it arrested the three other members of the four-man cell that carried out the attack — Fakih’s brother, Sahir; his cousin Muaz Fakih; and Mohammed Omaireh — and that they all belong to the Hamas terror group, which rules the Gaza Strip and has seen growing popularity in the West Bank.
