Arrests in Nablus (archive photo)
Photo: AP
2 would-be bombers nabbed
Cleared for publication: IDF soldiers operating in Nablus apprehend Palestinian man, woman who planned to carry out suicide bombing in Israel; IDF officer moderately wounded in operation
Cleared for publication: IDF forces operating in the West Bank town of Nablus Wednesday morning detained two Palestinians, a man and a woman, who planned to carry out a suicide bombing attack in Israel.
The two suspects were taken in for interrogation.
An IDF officer was moderately wounded during the operation. The officer's condition improved later and is currently characterized as light to moderate.
The troops arrived at the city and besieged a house where, according to intelligence information, several wanted Palestinian terror suspects were hiding. During the operation, Palestinians opened fire at the soldiers from a building in the area, wounding the officer. The soldiers fired back at the source of the fire.
Two wanted Palestinians hiding inside the house were detained, one of them a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the other a member of the Islamic Jihad.
A helicopter evacuated the injured officer to the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, near Tel Aviv.
IDF soldiers detained a total of 12 wanted Palestinian terror suspects in the West Bank Tuesday night. A Palestinian female was arrested in the village of Burin, south of Nablus, and a Hamas member was arrested in Beit Jala, north of Ramallah. An Islamic Jihad member was detained in Bethlehem. Four Hamas members and four Tanzim members were arrested in the Hebron area.
Also Tuesday night, the army fired artillery shells at Qassam launching sites in the northern Gaza Strip. On Tuesday, Palestinians fired five Qassam rockets from the northern Strip toward southern Ashkelon. A Palestinian was killed by the army's retaliation fire and another four were wounded.
A senior military official said Tuesday: "We have no intention of hurting innocent civilians, but we will hit areas from where Qassam rockets are launched…we will not agree to return to routine when terrorists use civilians as a shield from the IDF."
