Israeli security forces last month seized a 220-pound explosive device that a Palestinian terrorist cell had planned to use against soldiers in Judea and Samaria, according to a statement on Tuesday evening.
In joint announcement with the Israel Defense Forces, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said Ahmed Ali Zakharna and Tariq Abu Zeid were arrested in the Samaria city of Nablus (Shechem) on Jan. 11 while on their way to carry out a shooting in the nearby village of Huwara.
During interrogation, it became clear that the two were part of a cell associated with the Iranian-backed Jenin Battalion terror coalition and had plans to use a 220-pound bomb, the two security services stated.
Following the questioning, more operatives from the cell were arrested in a joint operation by the IDF and Shin Bet in the northern Samaria city of Qabatiya on Monday night. During the raid, additional arms were seized, including the powerful explosive, according to the statement.
Explosives weighing 220 pounds can destroy IDF Merkava tanks. In 2002, an Israeli tank driver in Gaza was killed and two crew members wounded as a result of a terrorist bomb of a similar size.
On Jan. 21, Israeli forces launched “Operation Iron Wall,” which seeks to neutralize the threat posed by terror hubs such as Jenin and Tulkarem in northern Samaria. The ongoing counter-terror raids mark a change in Jerusalem’s security strategy, Defense Minister Israel Katz has stressed.
Last week, three buses exploded near Tel Aviv, and bombs were found on two others in what is being investigated as a coordinated terrorist attack. At least one of the explosives reportedly bore a note, in Arabic and Hebrew, that stated: “Revenge from the Tulkarem refugee camp.”
“We will not allow the arms of the Iranian octopus and radical Sunni Islam to endanger the lives of the residents and establish an eastern terrorist front against the State of Israel,” Katz said on Jan. 22. “We will strike hard at the arms of the octopus until they are severed.”
Maintain the safety of Israeli citizens
Over the past few days, soldiers of the IDF’s Nahal Brigade joined the operation, carrying out arrests in Qabatiya, as well as in the towns of Silat al-Harithiya and Al-Yamun, at Shin Bet intelligence guidance.
During the raids, troops “searched dozens of terrorist infrastructure sites, apprehended 15 terrorists, located weapons, and dismantled explosives, including a high-powered improvised explosive device,” stated the IDF, with the latter referencing the 220-pound bomb.
The IDF statement contained video footage showing the powerful explosive being neutralized by the army in a controlled explosion.
“Israeli security forces continue their counter-terrorism activities to thwart terror throughout Judea and Samaria, and to maintain the safety of the citizens of Israel,” concluded Tuesday evening’s announcement.
More than two in three Israeli Jews fear that Palestinian terrorists based in Judea and Samaria could launch a significant attack similar to the Hamas-led massacre of 1,200 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to a survey published last week by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.
Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times in 2024, according to figures published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO on Feb. 17.
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.
The figures, which were cross-checked against official data from Israel’s security services, included 3,668 instances of rock-throwing; 843 attacks with Molotov cocktails; 671 attempts to blind drivers with laser pointers; 526 explosive charges; 364 cases of arson; and 179 terrorist shootings.
The rescue group also recorded 37 attempted or successful stabbings; 36 bottles of paint being thrown at vehicles; and 19 Palestinian car-ramming attacks, including 12 that caused injuries to Israelis.
The report noted that the Israel Security Agency last year foiled more than 1,000 potential attacks in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.