Zakaria Zubeidi, who was once at the top of Israel’s most-wanted list, was arrested by Israeli law enforcement on Wednesday for “serious and current terrorist activities,” according to the Shin Bet security services.
Tarek Barghout, an attorney frequently hired to represent terror suspects, was also taken into custody on the same charges, and his car was allegedly impounded.
Both men were arrested in the Palestinian Authority capital of Ramallah.
“This morning, in a joint operation of the Shin Bet security service, Israel Defense Forces and Israel Police, Zakaria Zubeidi and Tarek Barghout were arrested in connection with their participation in serious and current terrorist activities,” the Shin Bet said in a statement.
Zubeidi served as the commander of the Jenin region of Fatah’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades during the Second Intifada, and was a leader in planning multiple terror attacks.
He managed to evade Israeli law enforcement for years but was offered amnesty in 2007 if he would submit his weapons and forego terrorism. Zubeidi’s amnesty was revoked in December 2011 without elaboration by the Israeli government, and he returned to the most-wanted list.
Zubeidi made headlines in 2004 when an Israeli woman, Tali Fahima, moved into his home in Jenin to act as a human shield for him. She was subsequently arrested and convicted of assisting an enemy in wartime.
She converted to Islam in 2010.
