Israeli forces on Friday announced the arrest of a Palestinian suspected of attempting to carry out a pair of recent attacks in the West Bank, including placing an explosive device at a gas station.
According to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency, Nablus resident Amad Aslim was detained in joint operation overnight. He was later handed over to the Shin Bet for questioning.
The statement said Aslim, a resident of Nablus, was involved in shooting at an Israeli vehicle near Hawara on September 19.
No one was injured in the incident, with the suspect’s gun apparently jamming after he aimed it at the car. He then fled when the driver got out of the car and fired in the air.
The military and Shin Bet said Aslim was also suspected of leaving an explosive at a gas station near the entrance to the Kedumim settlement on September 25.
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The explosive did detonate and IDF sappers were called in to deal with the device.
In security camera footage of the incident, a suspect can be seen opening a car door and leaving a bag at the gas station, before the vehicle speeds off.
תיעוד: מחבלים הניחו הלילה מטען חבלה בתחנת הדלק בקדומים ונמלטו, המטען נוטרל@carmeldangor pic.twitter.com/f9VWEnMI4X
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) September 25, 2022
Aslim was one of five terror suspects arrested in overnight raids throughout the West Bank.
The IDF not identify the other detainees but said it recovered knives, weapons parts and ammunition during the arrests, in which no Israeli troops were hurt.
The latest arrests come as violence surges in the West Bank, with Palestinian gunmen having targeted military posts, troops operating along the West Bank security barrier, Israeli settlements and civilians on the roads in recent months.
The IDF and police have been on heightened alert since last week amid the Jewish holiday season, with tensions already high due to an Israeli anti-terror offensive that has seen over 100 Palestinians killed and more than 2,000 arrested in nightly raids in the West Bank.
The military launched the arrest operations after a series of Palestinian attacks that killed 19 people between mid-March and the beginning of May. In another suspected attack in September, an elderly woman was killed by a Palestinian man in the central city of Holon.
Israeli troops have repeatedly come under gunfire during nightly raids in Palestinian cities in the West Bank. During an operation in May, a police commando was killed as troops were wrapping up an arrest operation in the Jenin area. Last month, a senior IDF officer was killed in a gun battle with Palestinians on the northern West Bank security barrier.
However, the IDF is “logistically unprepared” to continue the major arrest operation in the West Bank, according to an “urgent” state comptroller report released Sunday.
