IDF Eliminates Murderer Of MK Har-Melech’s Husband, In Rafah

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In an IDF and Shin Bet intelligence-based strike, the Israeli Air Force eliminated on Sunday evening the terrorist Yassin Rabia, the Commander of Hamas’ leadership in Judea and Samaria, as well as Khaled Nagar, a senior official in Hamas’ Judea and Samaria wing.

The strike was carried out in the area of Tal as-Sultan, in northwest Rafah, based on precise intelligence.

Khaled Najjar was responsible for the murder of 25-year-old Shalom “Shuli” Har-Melech during the Second Intifada in Samaria on Aug. 28, 2003.

Har-Melech and his wife, Limor, were returning home to Homesh when they were ambushed by five terrorists who fired at them with automatic weapons. Har-Melech was killed on the spot, while his wife, then seven months pregnant, was critically wounded.

Limor was hospitalized and, several hours later, gave birth to their daughter by cesarean section. The couple also had an older child. They were expelled from Homesh during the 2005 disengagement.

Limor Har-Melech later married her current husband, Yehuda Son, and had a further eight children with him. She entered the Knesset for the Otzma Yehudit Party following the 2022 election.

Har-Melech said that she had mixed feelings about the elimination, which occurred over two decades after her first husband was murdered.

“The IDF eliminated in Rafah the head of the Silwad cell who murdered my husband, two soldiers, two youths and a mother of eight. In the military court the cell members received seven life sentences. I remember Khaled Najjar the evil terrorist saying derisively: “You’re a weak nation! We are strong, we have patience, we’ll kidnap soldiers until the last of our prisoners will be released. Seven sentences? I don’t consider this number, I will be released.

“A few years later he was released in the Shalit deal with all the cell. Afterwards he predictably returned to terror and was involved in the murder of Malachi Rosenfeld HyD”

“I have mixed feelings. On the one hand I have a feeling of relief that he was eliminated and will no longer direct the murder of Jews but on the other hand I understand that we must learn the painful lesson, that his release in the Shalit deal enabled him to murder more Jews. The consequences were clear and inescapable, and our brave soldiers were forced to chase after the same terrorists once again, 20 years later.”

“Today marks another step in bringing closure for me and the people of Israel in our fight against our enemies,”  Son Har-Melech concluded on X. “I thank the security forces and everyone involved in eliminating the despicable terrorist.”

According to the military, as a senior member of Hamas, Najjar was involved in directing shooting attacks and other terrorist activities across Judea and Samaria and in funneling funds to Hamas operatives.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said, “Hamas’ Judea and Samaria wing is responsible for the planning, funding, and carrying out of terror attacks throughout Judea and Samaria and within Israel.”

The terrorist Yassin Rabia managed the entirety of Hamas’ terrorist activity in Judea and Samaria, transferred funds to terror targets and planned Hamas terror attacks throughout Judea and Samaria.

In the past, Rabia himself carried out numerous murderous terror attacks, including in 2001 and 2002, in which IDF soldiers were killed.