Israeli forces arrested a senior member of Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah Party in the northern Samaria city of Jenin on Tuesday night, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Atta Abu Rumaila, 63, the secretary-general of Fatah in Jenin, and his son were detained during the raid.
According to a joint statement by the IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), Abu Rumaila promoted terrorist activity in recent months via financing and assisting terrorist operatives and wanted suspects. His son is also accused of being a terror activist.
Abu Rumaila is accused by Israel of taking a significant role in the recent security escalation in Jenin and has “acted for many months as a central instigator throughout Judea and Samaria, calling for harm to IDF soldiers and the State of Israel, while taking advantage of his public position in the field,” according to the statement.
The IDF said that his activities “constitute a high threat that necessitated his immediate arrest.”
במבצע לסיכול טרור של חטיבת מנשה כוחות הביטחון עצרו בג’נין את המחבל עטא אבו רמילה שהסית, קידם ומימן טרור; כלי טיס תקף מחבלים שירו לעבר כוחותינו במחנה הפליטים ג'נין >> pic.twitter.com/sfZuvMzyWW
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 1, 2023
Following the arrest, Israeli forces operated in the Jenin camp to destroy terrorist infrastructure. The engineering unit uncovered ready-to-use explosive charges buried under roads.
Israeli forces also located and destroyed an underground shaft that contained ammunition and confiscated military equipment and ammunition found in a suspicious vehicle.
During the counter-terror operation, terrorist fired on and threw explosives at Israeli forces, who returned fire. The IDF deployed a drone during the gun battle, identifying hits on several terrorists.
No Israeli casualties were reported.
While the P.A. is considered a moderate force by many in the international community and is supposed to provide security cooperation with Israel and fight terrorism, Fatah members were documented praising Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack in the western Negev in which at least 1,400 Israelis were murdered, over 5,000 wounded and more than 200 taken back to Gaza as captives.
The IDF said on Wednesday that since the war in began on Oct. 7, Israeli forces have arrested more than 1,180 wanted Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, including about 740 affiliated with Hamas.
