Over 60 PFLP operatives arrested in West Bank and Lebanon — IDF, Shin Bet
Authorities say key figures in terror group among those nabbed; PA says 2 dead in airstrike in Jenin area, plus 5 others killed in clashes with troops in northern West Bank
Over 60 operatives from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group organization have been arrested in counterterror operations in the West Bank and Lebanon, the IDF and Shin Bet announced in a joint statement on Tuesday.
Among those arrested in the West Bank was the head of the Women’s Committees Association of the PFLP, Abla Sa’adat, the wife of PFLP head Ahmad Sa’adat who has been jailed in Israel since 2006. In addition, Tahrir Badran Gaber, an activist from Ramallah was also detained, officials said.
The Women’s Committees Association of the PFLP has been declared to be a terror organization by Israel.
The IDF and Shin Bet said key figures who served as the heads of the PFLP in the West Bank were among those arrested, in addition to terrorists who operated in the field for the organization.
The statement added that students at West Bank universities who were active members of PFLP cells at the educational institutions were also detained.
Offices and businesses were raided and closed down by troops, including a printing press that produced inflammatory materials for the PFLP.
The statement also said that the military has been acting against the terror group in Lebanon since the killing of the PFLP commander at the end of September. According to the military and Shin Bet, Nidal Abd al-Aal was involved in planning and advancing terror attacks in the West Bank.
IDF announces West Bank airstrike; PA says two dead
Meanwhile, at least seven people were killed during an Israel Defense Forces raid and airstrikes in the West Bank on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, as the military targeted an armed terror cell in the Qabatiya area near Jenin.
The PA ministry and Palestinian media reports said two people were killed in an airstrike on a vehicle in Qabatiya, while three were shot dead by troops there and two others were killed in a standoff with troops in the nearby Tammun area, north of Nablus.
The Maan news agency claimed that an earlier drone attack in Tammun involved more than one missile and caused no injuries.
An initial IDF statement announcing the airstrike in the Qabatiya area did not give further details.
The strike came amid a military operation in Qabatiya that also reportedly saw a gun battle between troops and local operatives.
The #IDF conducted a targeted strike on a terrorist cell in Qabatiya, a town in the #Jenin Governorate of the West Bank. Reports indicate at least two eliminations. pic.twitter.com/ZZAyd6Cv3h
— War Monitor (@warmonitorME) November 5, 2024
Meanwhile, Border Police at a West Bank checkpoint in the Gush Etzion bloc stopped a wanted suspect carrying one million shekels in cash, Hebrew media outlets reported.
Since October 7, troops have arrested some 5,250 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,050 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry, more than 716 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 41 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another six members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
The IDF has carried out more than 70 airstrikes in the West Bank since October 7, using drones, attack helicopters, and fighter jets.
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
