2 Senior Terrorists Eliminated In Firefight With IDF Near Jenin, Islamic Jihad Vows Vengeance

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Two Palestinian terrorists were killed in clashes with Israeli troops during a Jenin arrest raid on Wednesday night.

The IDF said special units entered a town adjacent to Jenin to arrest suspects involved in terror activity. The troops came under heavy fire and responded to the sources of fire, hitting the two terrorists and injuring others. There were no reported injuries to IDF soldiers.

The IDF soldiers completed the arrests of the wanted suspects including Wasim Fa’iz, who was allegedly planning to perpetrate a car bomb attack in Israel

The terrorists eliminated were identified as Mohammed Ayman Saadi from Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Na’im Zubeidi from the Fatah-linked al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Both are senior terror operatives who had already served time in Israeli jails for security offenses. Zubeidi is a cousin of Zakharia Zubeidi, also a well-known Fatah terrorist who was the most wanted terrorist during the second Intifada (2001-2005) and briefly escaped from Israeli jail last year before being recaptured.

Saadi was a “prominent PIJ military operative” responsible for a series of shooting attacks against troops and arming other operatives under the directions of the PIJ leadership, the statement said.

Palestinian sources said that 20 people were injured in the IDF operation and a state of emergency was declared at a local hospital.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid praised the IDF for the operation, stating on Twitter that “it is a direct continuation of our uncompromising policy in the fight against terrorism. The two senior [terrorists] who were killed, an Islamic Jihad field commander in Jenin, and a senior member of the al-Aqsa Brigades in Jenin, planned and carried out terror attacks in Israeli territory.

“This is the way to fight terrorism, this is the way to protect the citizens of Israel. Take care of yourself,” Lapid added.

The Islamic Jihad vowed vengeance for Israel’s “heinous crime” and threatened to attack incoming National Security Minister Ben-Gvir “like we got to Rehavam Zeevi.”

The two terrorists killed were the seventh and eighth Palestinians killed in Judea and Samaria this week, one of whom performed a ramming attack at Kochav Yaakov, wounding a female Israeli soldier. The others were killed in clashes with Israeli troops, who are performing nightly arrests in an attempt to stamp out terror cells in Judea and Samaria.

The IDF said troops arrested six other wanted Palestinians during overnight raids ain the region and seized a handgun as well as three M-16 guns.