Amar Nasser Allah said during interrogations after his arrest on June 5 that he was part of a terrorist cell responsible for the shooting in Bat Hefer, east of Netanya, the Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday. While Hamas took responsibility for the attack it was integral to capture the culprit responsble.
During interrogation by the Israel Security Agency following his arrest on June 5, Amar Nasser Allah named several other members of the cell, according to the IDF. The Palestinian was shot and injured as he fled security forces in Tulkarem, but proved useful in giving critical intel regarding the attacks as he incriminated others who also recently fired at Bat Hefer.
Last month, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for military action after Palestinian terrorists opened fire on central Israeli cities multiple times over the span of 2 weeks. "Terrorism must be rooted out everywhere, even if it means that Tulkarem looks like Gaza looks today," said Smotrich, who also heads Judea and Samaria's civil affairs. Tulkarem, a city on the border of Samaria's security wall, is only eight kilometers from the densely populated coastal plain of the Jewish state.
Palestinian terror attacks in Judea and Samaria rose sharply in 2023 compared to the previous year, and the number of shootings was the highest since 2000-2005, according to the IDF. the second intifada of the year.
Since the start of the war with Hamas on October 7, the Israel Defense Forces have conducted intensive ground operations in Tulkarem, arresting hundreds of suspects and dismantling terrorist infrastructure, including explosives buried under roads intended to kill IDF soldiers .
On Sunday evening, Palestinian terrorists detonated powerful explosives in the satellite village of Tulkarem in Shuweika near the fence bordering the Israeli city of Bat Hefer. The explosion occurred just 60 meters (197 feet) from the end of the fence and was preceded by gunfire in the direction of central Israel, Kan News reports. The terrorists placed the charges and activated them hundreds of meters from the wall, the IDF said, adding that the explosions were designed to "lure troops to the area" and attack them when they arrived.