5 killed, 18 arrested in widespread IDF raids in Judea, Samaria

IDF arrests 18 suspects, 5 rioters killed during anti-terror offensive in PA-controlled cities and towns in Judea and Samaria.

By World Israel News Staff

The IDF carried out extensive raids throughout Palestinian towns and cities in Judea and Samaria late Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning, arresting some 18 terror suspects and seizing weapons.

Dubbed Operation Wave Breaker, the raids are aimed at stemming a recent uptick in violent terror attacks perpetrated by Palestinians, which have seen 14 people in Israel killed in recent weeks.

Israeli security forces entered Jenin, a terror hotbed and the hometown of the B’nei Brak and Tel Aviv terrorists, as well as smaller towns near Ramallah and Bethlehem.

During clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces, five people were killed, including a 14-year-old boy who threw a pipe bomb at soldiers, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

According to an IDF statement, no Israeli security forces were harmed during the clashes.

Violent rioting broke out in several of the municipalities where the raids took place, and videos on Palestinian social media show locals pelting IDF vehicles with rocks, Molotov cocktails, and other projectiles. Exchanges of fire between Palestinians and IDF troops were also reported.

In one video from Kfar Silwad, near Ramallah, the driver of an IDF armored jeep is seen losing control of the vehicle and crashing into a wall at a relatively high rate of speed.

Rioters surrounded and throw objects at the vehicle, then scattering after security forces, using crowd-dispersal methods to push back the crowd.

Another video from Kfar Husan shows a car belonging to a Jewish resident of Judea and Samaria, who apparently drove into the village by accident, set ablaze by locals. The Jewish man reportedly escaped the scene and was physically unharmed.

“Jenin – It is no longer a temporary anger,” wrote Arab affairs journalist Jack Khoury on Twitter, alongside a video of Palestinians carrying the body of a rioter killed by IDF forces through the city streets.

“Two killed this morning and another injured…severely. A clear sign of events: the street leads, not the [political] factions….this is similar to 87 not 2000. [The proliferation] of firearms will change the rules of the game.

“This is a [preview] for the post-Abu Mazen era,” Khoury wrote, referring to the embattled octogenarian PA president, whose security coordination with Israel has made him wildly unpopular with Palestinians.