Tonight (Monday) there was a joint activity of the IDF and the Shin Bet in the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp near Jericho. During the activity, several armed terrorists were killed who opened fire against IDF forces, who carried out searches and arrests.
The purpose of the operation was to stop a Hamas terrorist cell that carried out the shooting attack on a restaurant in Jericho at the end of January.
During the attack, two terrorists armed with weapons and vests arrived at the entrance of the restaurant where about 30 diners were at the time, in order to carry out a mass murder spree. Due to a stoppage of weapons, the attackers fled towards Jericho, thus preventing an attack that would have resulted in many casualties.
Since the attack, an intelligence effort by the Shin Bet and Amman revealed that the gunmen barricaded themselves in a hidden apartment in the Aqat Jaber refugee camp near Jericho, with the help of their family members and local residents, while declaring their intention to continue to attack.
Last week there was another activity by the Shin Bet and the IDF in an attempt to bring about their arrest, and since then the efforts to locate the members of the squad have continued.
During the operation, a force from the Bekaa Levia Battalion identified a number of armed men and an exchange of fire developed on the spot. The force rowed into contact, managed to neutralize the terrorists and remove the threat. Some of the neutralized terrorists were involved in the attack at Almog junction. There are no casualties to our forces.
The IDF and Shin Bet will continue to work to thwart any attempt by terrorist organizations and operatives, wherever they may be found, to promote terrorist activity against the State of Israel, its citizens and residents.
The seized weapons