IDF says Islamic State operative killed, 36 suspects arrested overnight in West Bank
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces says troops killed an Islamic State operative and detained 36 wanted Palestinians, including 18 Hamas members, during overnight raids across the West Bank.
Israeli forces had entered the village of Abu Dis, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, to arrest Nabil Halabia, a Palestinian affiliated with the Islamic State jihadist movement and until recently jailed in Israel.
The IDF says that from the moment Halabia was released in July, he “recruited a squad, purchased weapons and carried out a shooting attack against IDF forces in the area.”
“When forces arrived to arrest him, the terrorist opened fire, and in the exchange of fire, he was shot and killed,” the IDF says, adding that troops seized Halabia’s makeshift submachine gun.
Troops also operated in the West Bank cities of Jenin and Hebron, with some clashes reported.
Since October 7, the IDF says troops have arrested 1,350 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 850 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 130 West Bank Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, and in some cases by settlers, since October 7.
The IDF also says that on Friday, the head of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox, signed a demolition order for the home of Kamel Abu Bakr, the terrorist behind a deadly Tel Aviv shooting in August. Abu Bakr, from the village of Rummanah, killed Tel Aviv patrolman Chen Amir.