The Military Prosecution on Sunday indicted an alleged senior commander of the Nur Shams Battalion, accusing him of leading the terrorist network responsible for a roadside bombing that killed an IDF reservist during a military raid in the northern West Bank last year.
The indictment, filed in the Samaria Military Court, charges Kamal Khatib with intentionally causing death in concert, the military justice system's equivalent of murder, attempted intentional homicide, leading an unlawful terrorist organization, trafficking in military equipment and planting an explosive device.
The military court ordered Khatib to remain in custody until the conclusion of legal proceedings.
According to the indictment, Khatib rose through the ranks of the Nur Shams Battalion, serving first as a member, then as a senior operative and ultimately as its commander.
The battalion operates from the Nur Shams refugee camp on the outskirts of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank. Israel says it is a coalition of operatives affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas and other terrorist groups.
The camp, along with nearby Jenin and Tulkarm, has emerged as one of the main centers of Palestinian terrorism in the territory since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023.
Israeli security forces have repeatedly targeted the battalion, describing it as one of the most active terrorist groups in the northern West Bank. Authorities say it has carried out shootings, roadside bombings and attacks using improvised explosive devices against troops conducting arrest raids and counterterrorism operations. Several of the group's senior commanders, including Muhammad Jabber, better known as Abu Shujaa, have been killed in IDF operations.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Yehuda Geto
(Photo: Courtesy of the family)
The charges stem from an operation in Nur Shams on July 1, 2024, during which Sgt. First Class (res.) Yehuda Geto, 22, was killed by a powerful roadside bomb.
According to the IDF's investigation, troops had entered the camp as part of a counterterrorism raid when an improvised explosive device detonated beside a Panther armored personnel carrier after several soldiers had dismounted. The blast killed Geto and seriously wounded another soldier from the elite Duvdevan undercover unit. Palestinian Islamic Jihad later claimed responsibility for the attack.
The bombing highlighted the growing use of increasingly sophisticated improvised explosive devices by Palestinian terror groups in the northern West Bank, a tactic security officials say has become more common in recent years and mirrors methods used by terrorists in Gaza and southern Lebanon.
Following the attack, Israeli forces launched a series of raids and airstrikes targeting the Nur Shams Battalion, saying they killed several senior operatives and destroyed explosives laboratories, command centers, weapons caches and bomb-making facilities.
Israel has significantly expanded its military operations in the northern West Bank since the Gaza war began, arguing that it is seeking to dismantle terrorist groups before they can carry out attacks inside Israel or against Israeli forces.
If convicted, Khatib could face a lengthy prison sentence under Israel's military justice system.