Terrorist with ties to 2006 killing of Israeli soldier arrested by Shin Bet
A Tanzim operative from Nablus involved in carrying out shooting attacks near Joseph’s Tomb was arrested by Israeli security forces, the IDF announced on Thursday.
The operative, 42-year-old Alam al-Ra’i, was arrested in May of this year in a joint operation by the Shin Bet internal security agency, IDF and Israel Police.
During al-Ra’i’s investigation by the Shin Bet, it was understood that he had first been recruited by Gazan resident Muhammed Madi to carry out terror attacks in the West Bank.
He later also recruited additional operatives to join his cell in order to carry out attacks against Israeli targets. According to the security agency, he also received funds to bolster his work.
The Shin Bet said that in April of this year, al-Ra’i was involved in two shooting attacks in the Joseph’s Tomb complex in the West Bank city of Nablus.
As part of the investigation, the Shin Bet collected evidence regarding his involvement in a Tanzim cell that carried out a number of attacks against IDF troops in Nablus between the years 2005-2007. al-Ra’i later revealed during his interrogation that he had been involved in a terror attack in 2006 that killed IDF soldier Sgt. Osher Damari and wounded several other troops.
The event, which took place during the Second Lebanon War, saw troops, from the Haruv Battalion, enter the Nablus casbah in order to capture wanted Palestinians. Palestinians throw a powerful explosive device at them, killing Damari and wounding three other troops including the son of the then Central Command Head Yair Naveh.
The investigation found that al-Ra’i, along with other Palestinians, participated in dozens of shooting attacks against IDF troops and also planted explosive devices that could be remotely triggered.
According to the Shin Bet, the cell planned to explode the device and then fire on troops in order to injure as many soldiers as they could.
Al-Ra’i will be indicted by the military prosecution on the charge of a large number of serious security offenses, including the murder of Damari.
“The Shin Bet, together with the security forces, will continue to act to thwart terror activity against the citizens of Israel and will strive to solve terror attacks and prosecute the perpetrators,” the agency said.
Source: JP
