Palestinian says Shin Bet threatened him not to run in local PA elections over his late son’s Islamic Jihad ties

Atif Awawdeh, a resident of the village of Deir Samet, near Hebron, claims he was threatened twice in the past week by the IDF and the Shin Bet and told not to run in local Palestinian Authority elections — and later not to assume his role on the village council following the vote.

Awawdeh was held in administrative detention two and a half years ago for five months and was released without charges. In administrative detention, detainees are not presented with formal charges or clear allegations. He said he was told verbally at the time that he had been detained in order to pressure him to turn in his son, who was wanted by the Shin Bet. During his detention, his son, Ahmad Awawdeh — a member of Islamic Jihad’s Jenin Battalion — was killed by IDF forces in Jenin.

قوات الاحتلال تعتقل نائب رئيس بلدية دير سامت الجديد عاطف عواودة بعد اقتحام منزله غرب مدينة دورا جنوب الخليل. pic.twitter.com/YLstk4RHfL

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) April 27, 2026

Awawdeh, 56, tells The Times of Israel that on April 23, three days before the local election, IDF forces arrived and detained him, taking him to a military facility south of Hebron.

There, he says, he was instructed to speak by phone with “Captain Zidan” — “captain” being the term commonly used for Shin Bet field coordinators. The Shin Bet officer told him not to run in the elections, but did not explain why. Awawdeh says he chose to run anyway, heading a list he formed for the Deir Samet village council.

Despite the warning, Awawdeh did not withdraw his candidacy and, following the elections and negotiations with other slates, was appointed deputy head of the council. He says that about two hours after posting about his new role on Facebook on Monday, IDF forces detained him again and took him to a military base.

There, he says, he met the same officer face to face, who told him he must not “enter the village council” because his son was killed and he is “the father of a martyr,” adding that “those who do not learn the easy way will learn the hard way.”

Following the incident, Awawdeh announced he would give up the position.

In recent months, Awawdeh has posted content critical of Israel’s actions toward Palestinians and expressed approval of the killing of Yasser Abu Shabab, the head of a militia formed in Gaza to oppose Hamas with alleged Israeli backing. He has not expressed support for acts of terrorism.

He tells The Times of Israel he has no connection to his son’s activities and says that once his son reached adulthood, he left home and he did not know his whereabouts.

Awawdeh says he has worked for the past 20 years in exporting construction materials abroad and maintains ties with Israeli companies.

The IDF refers questions to the Shin Bet and declines to comment. The Shin Bet also declines to comment.