Ahmed Nassar Jarrar, the head of the Palestinian terror cell that on Jan. 9 murdered Israeli father of six and volunteer medic Rabbi Raziel Shevach, a resident of the Havat Gilad settlement, was killed early Tuesday morning by IDF forces.
The operation took place in coordination with the Shin Bet intelligence agency, which located Jarrar in a building complex west of Jenin in Samaria. Israeli Border Police counter-terror forces surrounded the perimeter of the complex and called on Jarrar to surrender. When the terrorist exited the building armed with an M-16 assault rifle and a cache of explosives, Israeli forces opened fire and killed him. Accomplices who hid Jarrar were arrested.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the security officers, noting that he had promised Shevach’s widow, Yael, that he would catch her husband’s murderers.
“The security forces will catch whoever tries to attack Israeli citizens and we will deal with them to the fullest extent of the law. So it will be with the murderers of Rabbi Itamar Ben Gal,” Netanyahu said, referencing the 29-year-old father of four who was killed by a Palestinian terrorist Monday while standing at a bus stop in Ariel.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman condemned the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership for sponsoring terror, noting that families of terrorists receive 10,000-12,000 shekels ($2,870-$3,450) as a reward for terrorist acts, and that several PA officials visited the Jarrar family home to pay condolences. Lieberman also accused PA President Mahmoud Abbas of “diplomatic terrorism” against Israel in the international arena.