Israeli forces kill Islamic Jihad’s Jenin terror chief

Israeli security forces operating in the Nablus area killed Noor Beitawi, the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s terrorist network in Jenin, the IDF said on Friday.

Beitawi was behind numerous terrorist plots and was responsible for planning, funding, and executing attacks targeting Israeli civilians and security personnel. According to Israeli authorities, he also maintained operational ties with Hamas in Gaza and abroad.

The IDF said Beitawi transferred funds to terrorist cells in Jenin and surrounding villages, recruited and armed operatives, and oversaw the production and deployment of explosives aimed at Israel Defense Forces soldiers in the region.

Beitawi had been wanted for several months. He was identified fleeing from Jenin toward Nablus following a counter-terrorism operation in northern Samaria, Israeli officials said.

Acting on intelligence provided by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), Israeli forces located Beitawi hiding in a residence in Nablus. The home was surrounded, and Beitawi was killed along with another terrorist during the operation.

“Israeli security forces will continue to act against terrorism in Judea and Samaria to ensure the security of Israeli citizens,” the IDF said in a statement.

Since the launch of “Operation Iron Wall” on Jan. 21, Israeli forces have killed more than 100 terrorists, arrested approximately 320 wanted individuals and seized around 450 weapons in Judea and Samaria, the military said on Wednesday.

Security forces have also dismantled hundreds of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and pipe bombs, along with dozens of homes used as bomb-making laboratories and weapons storage facilities.

Since the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli forces have killed more than 700 terrorists in Judea and Samaria, including 36 senior operatives from various organizations.

On Thursday evening, several terrorists threw rocks at an Israeli car and bus near the town of Na’ama in the Jordan Valley, lightly injuring an infant. The baby, who was on the bus during the attack, received medical attention at the scene, the Israel Defense Forces said.

A day earlier, two people were seriously wounded in a terrorist attack near the Reihan Crossing along the security fence in northern Samaria. In a separate incident on Wednesday in the Hebron Hills, a terrorist attempted to ram Israeli troops before exiting his vehicle and attacking them with a knife. The assailant was neutralized at the scene.

Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times in 2024, according to figures published earlier this year by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO.

Twenty-seven Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2024, and more than 300 others were wounded, the group said in its annual report.