August 6, 2023 | Flash Brief

Israeli SWAT Team Stops Palestinian Terror Squad

August 6, 2023 | Flash Brief

Israeli SWAT Team Stops Palestinian Terror Squad

Latest Developments

Israeli special forces killed three Palestinian terrorists on August 6 as they were en route from Jenin to carry out an attack. The daylight interdiction on a West Bank road came less than 24 hours after a Jenin-based gunman, on the way to perpetrate what could have been a major terrorist attack, killed an Israeli security officer in Tel Aviv and was then shot dead.

Video circulated online showed members of Israel’s Yamam, or police SWAT team, shooting the three terrorists’ vehicle from behind unmarked cars. A joint Shin Bet, police, and military statement said the three Palestinians, who had an M-16 assault rifle, were on their way to carry out an attack. The statement did not elaborate on the terror squad’s affiliations other than to say that its leader had been receiving instructions from “terror operatives in the Gaza Strip.”

The West Bank has seen a surge of Palestinian drive-by shootings and other attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.

Expert Analysis

“It’s still unclear if this counter-terrorism operation was linked to the Tel Aviv attack. What is clear is Israel’s hair-trigger response to intelligence about impending terrorism and the stakes should it fail to act in time. Jenin remains a hotbed of threats to Israelis, whether in nearby communities or as far away as Tel Aviv.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“That this squad was working at least in part under orders from Gaza shows yet again that Hamas or Islamic Jihad is actively trying to turn the West Bank into another of its terrorist fiefdoms. Behind them is the regime in Iran, which would dearly like to have control of another territory from which to pursue its dream of destroying Israel.” — Joe Truzman, Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

“Israeli Security Officer Killed Halting Larger Palestinian Terrorist Attack,” FDD Flash Brief

“Iran-backed West Bank Chaos,” by Joe Truzman

“Post Jenin Operation, Questions Linger About the State of the West Bank,” by Joe Truzman

Issues:

Israel Palestinian Politics