Undercover Israeli commandos kill terror leader, four others on Nablus street
Local Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade leader, who reportedly survived June 2023 raid, killed in daylight shooting; Israel said to believe armed suspects were planning terror attack
The Times of Israel
Oct 9, 2024
Leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade terror group Issam al-Salaj.
Undercover Israeli forces opened fire on a car in the West Bank city of Nablus, killing five terror suspects, authorities said Wednesday.
Among those killed in the broad daylight shooting near central Nablus was the long-sought leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade terror group in the nearby Balata refugee camp, according to police. He was named in reports as Issam al-Salaj.
The Israel Police said commandos from the Yamam counter-terror unit had been operating in Nablus when they opened fire on the terror suspects.
“The Yamam forces eliminated five armed terrorists who posed a threat to their lives,” police said.
According to police, the unit had been in Nablus as part of an arrest operation targeting terror suspects, backed by the Israel Defense Forces, Shin Bet security service and Border Police force.
No Israeli forces were injured, police said.
The Palestinian health ministry said four men were killed in the raid and a fifth person was hospitalized with bullet shrapnel wounds. His condition was not given.
Footage of the shooting shared on social media appeared to show a small group of undercover officers with automatic rifles opening fire on a car at close range while standing on a busy street, after apparently emerging from another car with Palestinian plates. Several onlookers could be seen watching the killings.
An unnamed security source quoted by the Kan public broadcaster said the occupants of the car had been high-ranking terror operatives who were planning an attack.
Police did not identify the other wanted Palestinians, but said they had been “involved in carrying out and planning terror operations against civilians and the IDF.”
Salaj had reportedly been the target of a failed June 2023 raid in Nablus, managing to escape with only injuries after a firefight with Israeli forces who had surrounded his home. A Palestinian teen with mental disabilities was killed during the standoff.
Nablus and the adjacent Balata camp have been one of the several flashpoints in the northern West Bank where Israel has intensified efforts against Palestinian terror groups.
The raids have largely targeted Hamas, Islamic Jihad and allied groups, but have also sought to clamp down on the Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades, which is linked to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party.
The shooting came hours after a terrorist stabbed several people in the Israeli city of Hadera, wounding six, in the second major terror attack this week following a deadly shooting in Beersheba on Sunday. In both instances, the perpetrators were Israeli citizens.
According to the PA, more than 716 West Bank Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops since October 7, 2023, when the IDF stepped up anti-terror operations.
The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.
Troops have also arrested some 5,250 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,050 affiliated with Hamas.
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