Israeli forces raided An-Najah National University in Nablus (Shechem) in central Samaria overnight Sunday, arresting nine wanted suspects associated with the Hamas student cell who were hiding there.
“Many other suspects” were detained for questioning in the joint IDF-Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) operation, the army said. The Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that it was the first time in three decades that Israeli forces entered the campus.
Eight more wanted terrorism suspects were arrested in overnight operations throughout Judea and Samaria, and hundreds of thousands of shekels “destined for terrorist activity” were seized.
Furthermore, security forces destroyed two homes of Hamas operatives in Qalqilya, in western Samaria, as part of enforcement against illegal construction activity.
The illegal homes of Bassem Daud, a senior Hamas member, and Saleh Daud, who carried out two shooting attacks in 2015, were demolished in an operation involving IDF engineering forces, the Ephraim Brigade, the Civil Administration and police.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday called on the government to strengthen the Palestinian Authority, despite its support for the Oct. 7 massacre and paying monthly stipends to the terrorists who participated in the mass murder.
“Hamas is trying to link up Gaza with Judea and Samaria and to rile up the area. We must prevent this in every way and deal with the issue of laborers and money. This could harm our ability to achieve our war goals,” his office said in a statement.
Gallant was referring to the issue of Palestinian workers from Judea and Samaria once more being allowed to enter Israel within the pre-1967 lines. They were restricted from entering the country after the Oct. 7 massacre out of security concerns. He was also referring to frozen tax funds that Israel collects for the P.A.
He added that he “hopes that the government will accept the position of the IDF and the Shin Bet on everything that is connected to laborers and money. I will say this in the clearest way possible: A strong Palestinian Authority is in the best security interests of Israel.”
