Jerusalem/Ramallah: Israeli fighters on Friday killed the head of the Islamic Jihad movement in Jenin, northern West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Police said in a joint statement.
It stated that the Palestinian militant, Noor Beitawi, had established a “terror infrastructure” and planned attacks in the immediate term.
The statement added that he was located and killed in Nablus city in a joint operation by the IDF, Israel Police’s National Counter Terror Unit, and the Israel Security Agency, or the Shin Bet.
According to the statement, Beitawi was involved in directing, funding, and executing attacks against Israeli civilians and forces, and maintained ties with Hamas.
“Beitawi was responsible for transferring terror funds to Jenin and other locations in the area. He operated to recruit and arm terrorists to carry out attacks against IDF soldiers. Simultaneously, he led the production and planting of explosives in the area of Jenin,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported that medical workers recovered pieces of the body of an unidentified Palestinian from inside a house in Nablus.
On Friday evening, Israeli forces surrounded the house and targeted it with shells, WAFA said, adding more Israeli troop reinforcements had arrived and that ambulances had been prevented from reaching the area.
Earlier on Friday, the IDF said that together with the police and Shin Bet troops, it arrested 55 wanted individuals and confiscated 10 weapons of various types in the West Bank over the past week.
