Israeli forces on Thursday apprehended in Jenin a suspect in the May 13 shooting death of Sgt. Maj. Noam Raz, 47, a member of Israel’s elite National Counterterrorism Unit (Yamam).
The suspect, identified as Tzdaki Ahmed Ali Marai, 23, a resident of the city, is a high-level terror operative and was involved in a number of shooting attacks on Israeli Defense Forces soldiers, the IDF said in a statement.
An M-16 rifle and two handguns were found in his vehicle and seized.
During the operation, an explosive device was thrown at IDF soldiers, who responded with live fire, according to the military.
No IDF casualties were reported.
כוחות הביטחון עצרו מבוקש נוסף החשוד במעורבות בירי בו נהרג לוחם הימ"מ נעם רז ז״ל.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 10, 2022
בעקבות מידע מודיעיני של שב״כ, ובתום פעילות משותפת של לוחמי הימ״מ, סיירת נח"ל ומג"ב נעצר הבוקר המבוקש צדקי מרעי בעיר ג’נין שבמרחב החטמ״ר מנשה. במהלך מעצרו נתפסו ברכבו רובה מסוג M-16 ושני אקדחים>> pic.twitter.com/dr4pW4htOL
The capture follows an IDF raid on Nov. 3 which resulted in the killing of Farouk Salama, 28, leader of the Jenin branch of the Al-Quds Brigades, who also played a role Raz’s killing.
Raz, a 23-year Yamam veteran, was shot by a Palestinian terrorist during an operation in Jenin, and later died of his wounds at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.
A resident of the town of Kida in Judea and Samaria, he left behind a wife and six children.
