The IDF and Shin Bet announced Tuesday the arrest of a terror cell operating in the Tulkarm area, following an investigation that began when an explosive device was discovered in an IDF vehicle undergoing maintenance in Ma’ale Adumim.
The investigation revealed that several suspects were involved in attacks on military vehicles, including a bombing that injured former Menashe Brigade commander Col. (res.) A.
One of the main suspects, Ahmad Abu Samara, was linked to a September attack in which an explosive device was attached to a Panther vehicle, injuring several soldiers. He was also connected to an attempted bombing of a David military vehicle and another attack that wounded Col. A.
Another suspect, Khalil Kharisha from Tulkarm, was arrested for allegedly supplying materials used in the production of explosives. A subsequent IDF raid in Tulkarm, guided by Shin Bet intelligence, uncovered three rockets in various stages of assembly, including one with a warhead and explosive material. Improvised explosive devices, detonators and bomb-making supplies were also found just hundreds of meters from communities in central Israel.
Controlled detonation of explosive device found in Jeep garage in Ma'ale Adumim
The initial breakthrough came when a bomb was discovered under a military vehicle during routine servicing in Ma’ale Adumim. Bomb disposal teams neutralized the device in a controlled explosion, and forensic investigators collected DNA evidence. Although it didn’t initially match any known suspects, further lab work eventually pointed investigators to the village of Attil near Tulkarm and to two family members.
In October, one of the suspects was arrested in a joint operation by the IDF, Shin Bet and police. In his interrogation, he admitted to placing the explosive under the vehicle, saying he intended to harm IDF soldiers "because of the war and what the army is doing." He also confessed to two additional bombings, including the one that injured Col. A, who he was able to identify.
The investigation later uncovered additional accomplices and a hidden weapons cache in the suspect's home, including rockets buried beneath a pile of stones near a tree.
The rockets, reportedly constructed using instructions found online, were filled with improvised explosives known locally as “Umm al-Abed.” Six walkie-talkies, binoculars and other materials used to make weapons were also recovered.