Israel Police said on Saturday night that they arrested a suspected accomplice of the Palestinian terrorist who wounded 10 people when he opened fire on a bus near Ariel in central Samaria the previous day.
Intelligence and operational activity by Samaria Region officers from the Israel Police’s Judea and Samaria District, in collaboration with Jerusalem District units, led to the arrest of an Arab Israeli resident of eastern Jerusalem.
Samaria Special Patrol Unit (Yasam) fighters and an undercover unit from the Ariel station apprehended the suspect “during a focused operational activity on Route 4,” the Israel Police said. He was transferred for further questioning in the Samaria District.
Ten people were injured, three seriously, when Samer Hussein, a 46-year-old from the village of Einabus near Huwara, started shooting with an automatic weapon at a Tel Aviv-Ariel bus as it stopped to pick up passengers at the Giti Avisar Junction. The terrorist was killed in a gunfight with Israeli security forces.
The terrorist had previously been imprisoned in Israel after planting a bomb in an attempt to harm soldiers.
Images circulating online of the deceased terrorist appeared to show him wearing a bulletproof vest. The Israel Police stated on Sunday that there has been a rise in the use of tactical vests and uniforms in recent weeks in terror-related incidents, which “complicates the identification of attackers in the field and poses a risk to both security forces and civilians.”
In response, Judea and Samaria District Police and the IDF launched an operation on Saturday night targeting a suspect involved in large-scale trafficking of weapons and military equipment.
As part of the operation, authorities raided several warehouses and a store that was involved in the extensive distribution of military equipment and weaponry across Judea and Samaria. A 27-year-old Palestinian suspect was apprehended, and various items were confiscated, including tactical vests, knives, weapon grips and Airsoft guns.
This operation was conducted at the directive of Police Commissioner Daniel Levy as part of an emergency containment initiative.
Earlier this month, Hamas terrorists opened fire toward the Shahak Industrial Park near the community of Shaked in northern Samaria.
No casualties were reported in the attack on the industrial zone, which is located some five miles west of Jenin, a hotbed of Palestinian terrorism.
In the first six months of 2024, Judea and Samaria saw more than 500 Arab terrorist attacks each month on average, according to data made public by Hatzalah Judea and Samaria (Rescuers Without Borders).
During that period, first responders recorded 3,272 acts of terrorism in the region, including 1,868 cases of rock-throwing, 456 attacks with Molotov cocktails, 299 explosive charges and 109 shootings.