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Israeli policeman wounded in Jenin anti-terror raid

Abu Hijla Hamas

Hamas terrorist Majdi Abu Hijla. (Courtesy)

An Israeli elite policeman was wounded during an overnight operation to capture Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists in Samaria.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

An Israeli policeman, a member of an elite counter-terror unit, was moderately wounded early Tuesday morning during an operation to capture senior terrorists in the Palestinian city of Jenin in Samaria.

Five Palestinians rioters were also injured in the incident.

The exact details of the incident are yet unclear, but according to initial reports, the elite counter-terror Yamam unit, together with IDF forces and members of the Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) surrounded several houses in Jenin late Monday night, where they suspected Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were hiding.

Bassem al-Saadi, a senior Islamic Jihad official who was released from an Israeli prison in 2011, was one of the targets, reports indicate.

When surrounding one of the houses, they called on the terrorist to surrender, but he resisted, and they commenced with procedures to arrest him.

A gunfight ensued, during which the policeman was wounded. According to the IDF’s statement, he may have been hurt by friendly fire.

He was evacuated by helicopter to Rambam Hospital in Haifa, where he had surgery on his legs.

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At the end of the battle, the house, reportedly belonging to the Abu al-Hija family, was destroyed. It is yet unclear who was in the house, if anyone was killed or if the Hamas target was apprehended.

The Palestinian Ma’an news agency reports that Majdi al-Hija, his brother Alaa, his son and other family members were in fact detained. Al-Hija’s son was killed a year ago in an Israeli raid to arrest him.

Palestinians began rioting in the city, and a mob of hundreds surrounded the Israeli security forces, throwing rocks, fire-bombs and improvised explosive devices at them. Five Palestinians were injured by tear gas during the rioting and taken to hospital for treatment, Ma’an reported.

The massive IDF raid comes as Israel’s citizens have been experiencing a mounting wave of Palestinian terror.

An Israeli civilian was lightly wounded on Sunday afternoon when terrorists fired on the vehicle he was driving on a main route in Samaria.

On Saturday night, an IDF soldier was lightly wounded in a car terror attack in the Hebron area in Judea.

Last week, an ax-wielding Palestinian terrorist attacked a group of Border Police officers near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City. He managed to stab one Border Police officer and lightly wound him in the leg while they were arresting him.