The Israeli military said Sunday that the IDF is still in the middle of a manhunt for the father of the terrorist responsible for the deadly attack in Tel Aviv three days ago.
Lt. Gen Ran Kochav, an IDF spokesperson, told Ynet that Fathi Hazem, will be apprehended soon. "We were at his home, mapped the house of the terrorist, called on him to exit and he wasn't home. He has certain conditions - return his son's body. But we'll get to him."
Ra’ad Hazem, a 28-year-old Palestinian from the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, on Thursday night opened fire at a crown of people at the Ilka bar on the city's busy Dizengoff Street, killing three Israelis and wounding several others. He was ultimately eliminated by Israeli security forces after hours-long manhunt.
Kochav added the troops who arrested 15 militants in the Jenin area on Sunday were guided by intelligence information provided by the Shin Bet security agency.
"Our forces along with Border Police units and others have been operating in the area of Jenin on the northern West Bank in recent days, based on information gathered by the Shin Bet," Kochav said. "Our forces have specific intelligence," he said.
Security forces entered the Jenin refugee camp and the neighboring village of Ya'bed on Sunday for the second consecutive day in order to arrest terror suspects as well as family members of the assailant who carried out Thursday's deadly attack.
He said he was certain the Fathi Hazem, the father of the terrorist, a former high ranking member of the Palestinian Authority security forces, would be located, after he evaded arrest and refused to surrender to Israeli forces.
At least 20 people who were suspected of planning terror attacks were arrested by the forces. Militants opened fire at the troops as they entered the area. No injuries were reported, among the Israeli forces.
When asked what the IDF plans to do about the influx of Palestinians into Israel through gaps in the partition fence, Kochav said the fence was not a hermetically sealed border.
"There are upwards of 100,000 Palestinians who come to Israel daily during the month of Ramadan, many on their way to Jerusalem," the military spokesperson said. "Israeli citizens also cross in and out of the West Bank and we must close all gaps," he said.
"Our focus in recent years was on the Egyptian border and with Gaza, where we have a barrier above and bellow ground," Kochav said. "We have to strengthen the border with Lebanon and with Syria and solve the problems of gaps in the partition fence with the West Bank. The terrorist walked across the boundary and cut the fence in an area that was not seen by soldiers, he then entered the Israeli Arab city of Umm al Fahm and on to Tel Aviv," he said.
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An IDF soldier stands guard near a gap in the partition fence near Hebron
(Photo: AFP)
"We must differentiate between terrorists and the general population seeking to cross into Israel to work or to worship," Kochav said. "The IDF briefs the political leadership on a daily basis as to the number of Palestinians coming across. In Jenin we imposed more restrictions so that less people will come over," he said.
When asked how the IDF could prevent the actions observed in the Jenin area from spreading to other parts of the West Bank, Kochav said there is an increase in troop deployment. "We also have intelligence and special forces deployed to the partition fence to make sure uninvolved civilians are not identified as terrorists," he said.
"I don't want to reveal intelligence. I can say that the two terrorists who came from the Jenin area were not sent by the Islamic Jihad, there was no formal organizational involvement," he said. "That does not mean there was no inspiration, or an attempt to copy earlier attacks. These were lone actors," he said.
Finally, Kochav said the IDF was assisting the Israel Police, which is suffering from a shortage of manpower, in the fight against terror and violent crime inside Israel's cities.
"We are bolstering police forces with over 1,000 troops and will continue to do so for the coming weeks. We've been in coordination with the police and provided our best fighting units for the task," he said.
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IDF special forces in Tel Aviv soon after the deadly terror attack there on Thursday
(Photo: Tal Shahar)
When asked about the apparent lack of coordination observed on Thursday, as forces were on the hunt for the assailant in Tel Aviv, the spokesperson said the police was in charge of the scene.
"We will sit with the police and review the events early in the week and see how we can do better the next time," he said.
First published: 15:01, 04.10.22