Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian security prisoner in the West Bank village of Kobar after he escaped from a Palestinian prison and was reportedly planning to carry out an attack in Israel, the Shin Bet internal security service announced Wednesday evening.
The suspect was identified as 33-year-old Mu'ad Hamed who was part of a Hamas terrorist cell that killed Malachi Rosenfeld, a Jewish settler, in 2015.
According to a statement, the Shin Bet received earlier on Wednesday information about Hamed's escape from prison, and according to the suspicion, he may have been involved in promoting a terrorist attack against Israeli targets in the immediate term.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces also surrounded a home in the West Bank town of Silwad Wednesday evening and arrested several Palestinians suspected of planning to help Hamed carry out the attack.
The troops and encountered dozens of Palestinians who threw stones at them. Three Palestinians were arrested in the operation.
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Malachi Rosenfeld, who was killed by a Hamas terror cell in 2015
(Photo: Courtesy of the family
)
Multiple terrorists who carried out attacks in Israel hailed from Silwad, which is situated next to Ramallah and the Jewish settlement of Ofra.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett commended the forces for Hamed's successful arrest.
"Seven years ago, this vile terrorist Mu'ad Hamed shot a vehicle near the settlement of Kida and murdered Malachi Rosenfeld and wounded three of his friends who were on their way home from a basketball game," he wrote on Twitter.
"He recently escaped prison in the Palestinian Authority and was on his way to carry out a terrorist attack against Israelis. Our forces — the Shin Bet, [police counterterrorism unit] Yamam and the IDF — jumped into action and captured him, thus preventing a horrible attack. Our forces also arrested other suspects involved in the attack. Israel's long arm will reach out to anyone who raises a hand against us. It has no expiration date."
Overnight Wednesday, Israeli forces also clashed with Palestinian rioters in Nablus outside a Jewish shrine as settlers, protected by troops, began renovating the place after it was vandalized a number of days earlier by Palestinians.
One man was killed in the clashes and at least 17 others were injured when Palestinian gunmen and Israeli troops exchanged fire.
A few hours earlier, IDF forces made extensive arrests across the West Bank, arresting suspects around Jenin and in the cities of Tulkarm and Nablus among other locations.
During their incursion into Jenin, Palestinian gunmen opened fire at Israeli forces. There were no casualties on the Israeli side.
Meanwhile, a collective of the Gaza Strip's terrorist factions met to draw up "rules of engagement with Israel" in the wake of recent, near-daily raids in the West Bank following a series of terror attacks on Israeli soil and calls by Israeli right-wing activists to offer an animal sacrifice on the Temple Mount, where the al-Aqsa Mosque is located, during Passover.
Although the statement did not include an explicit threat or an ultimatum, the collective agreed to gear up for a potential conflict with Israel.