Palestinian terror suspect caught filming Bnei Brak light rail

The Israel Police said on Tuesday that it had arrested a Palestinian suspected of past involvement in terror attacks who was in Israel illegally, posed as a citizen and filmed inside a light-rail station.

Security guards at the Aharonovich station in the central city of Bnei Brak spotted the man on Monday morning and called police to the scene.

The suspect first gave them an Israeli ID number and claimed he lived in Tayibe, an Arab city in central Israel, according to the force.

Further checks showed he had given false details and had been involved in “past security incidents,” police said.

“The suspect, 32, a resident of Judea and Samaria, who was allegedly involved in carrying out terror attacks against Israeli targets, was arrested and transferred for questioning at the Bnei Brak station,” the police statement added.

He was set to be brought before the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for a hearing on extending his detention.

Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces soldiers earlier this week arrested four Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists who were planning an attack in northern Samaria, the military said on Tuesday.

The arrests took place in the villages of Qabatiya and Arraba, near the Palestinian city of Jenin. They were based on Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) intelligence, according to the IDF.

In a separate raid in the Beit Rima area, northwest of Ramallah, soldiers detained a suspect involved in arms trafficking.

The terrorists were handed over to security forces for further questioning, the IDF said.

Two Palestinians arrested for attacking Jewish shepherd

On Monday, Israel Police detained two Palestinians on suspicion of assaulting and lightly wounding a 15-year-old Jewish shepherd near the Michtam LeDavid Farm in the Binyamin region of Samaria, the force said.

IDF troops dispersed those involved before police arrived. Officers then detained the suspects based on testimony taken at the scene.

The suspects were taken to a police station for questioning, according to the statement.

Magen David Adom told JNS that the teenager sustained minor injuries in the attack. MDA medics examined him at the scene, and he did not need to be taken to a hospital, a spokesman said.

Also on Monday, the IDF said that troops arrested a suspect wanted for terrorist activity in Samaria and discovered an M16 rifle and ammunition hidden behind a washing machine in his home.

The operation was carried out by Nahal troops from the 931st Battalion, operating under the Samaria Regional Brigade, according to the IDF.

Yesha Council chief warns Supreme Court ruling could lead to another Oct. 7

Yesha Council chairman Yisrael Ganz on Monday condemned an Israeli Supreme Court decision concerning the return of displaced Palestinians to camps in northern Samaria, warning that it could lead to another Oct. 7, 2023-style attack.

“The High Court is harming Israel’s security, bringing about the next Oct. 7 with its own hands, in Netanya, Kfar Yona and Afula,” he said in a Hebrew-language statement.

The court on Sunday requested that the state provide timelines for measures that could allow residents to return to the Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps, where Israeli forces have conducted extensive counterterrorism operations. The judges did not order their immediate return and gave the state until Nov. 23 to respond.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as an additional minister within the Israeli Defense Ministry, with authority over civil affairs in Judea and Samaria, also criticized the decision, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz to instruct the IDF not to cooperate with the court or allow what he called “terror camps” to be reestablished.

Why Israel? by Rev. Willem Glashouwer

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