Israel eliminates arch-terrorist with drone strike on his way to carry out an attack near Nablus
Israeli forces continue to hunt and destroy terror networks in the West Bank
The Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security agency eliminated a terror cell with a drone strike in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus in the West Bank on Tuesday, the IDF announced.
The squad was led by Abdallah Abu Shalal, who the IDF said was one of the most prominent terror leaders in the West Bank and responsible for creating a large terror infrastructure.
Abu Shalal and his squad were traveling in a car at the time of the airstrike, which was carried out after the Shin Bet received intelligence regarding an imminent terror attack.
בפעילות משותפת של צה"ל ושב״כ חוסלה מהאוויר חוליית מחבלים, בראשה עמד עבדאללה אבו שלאל>> pic.twitter.com/2S0bNDOihy
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) January 17, 2024
Several weapons were found in the burnt-out car after the airstrike.
Palestinian sources didn’t mention the death of Abu Shalal but identified three other terrorists who they claimed were killed in the strike.
The IDF also stated that the terror infrastructure – built and directed by Abu Shalal in the Balata camp, which has recently become a terror hotbed – had received funding and guidance from Iran in cooperation with terror organizations in Gaza and outside of Israel.
Israeli security forces carried out another broad wave of arrests in the night between Monday and Tuesday, arresting 27 terror suspects throughout Judea and Samaria.
In Bani Naim, near Hebron, soldiers mapped the house belonging to one of the terrorists responsible for the attack in Ra’anana this week in preparation for its demolition.
In the city of Ramallah, the capital of the Palestinian Authority, soldiers prepared to demolish the house of the terrorist who carried out a shooting attack near Silwad on Jan. 7.
Another IDF battalion raided the village of Idna, also near Hebron, the residence of the three terrorists who attempted to attack the town of Adura last Friday.
The Israeli military said the village remained closed off and counter-terror operations continued into Tuesday.
Since the beginning of the war on Oct. 7, around 2,700 wanted persons have been arrested throughout Judea and Samaria, some 1,300 of whom are associated with the terror organization Hamas.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
