Israel expands Jenin-Area counterterror operations, airstrike thwarts 'imminent attack'

Tel Aviv [Israel], February 2 (ANI/TPS): Israel expanded a northern Samaria counterterror operation now on its 13th day, with three airstrikes overnight on terrorists and raids in the Palestinian village of Tamun the Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday morning.
One of the strikes, in the village of Qabatiya, hit a vehicle carrying several terrorists on their way to carry out what the IDF said was an "imminent terrorist attack." Of the two terrorists killed, one was identified as Abd al-Hadi Kamil, who had been released from prison during a temporary ceasefire in November 2023. Aerial surveillance footage of the strike showed secondary explosions indicating the presence of explosives.
Two other airstrikes eliminated terror cells in Jenin which the IDF did not elaborate on.
Soldiers in Tamun seized weapons, including an M-16 rifle and cartridges.
On Saturday evening, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a stark warning on Saturday night to Zakaria Zubeidi, a high profile Palestinian terrorist released on Thursday.
"Zakariah Zubaidi, you were released in an agreement for the release of Israeli hostages - one mistake and you're going to meet old friends," Katz posted on X. "We will not accept support for terrorism."
Zubeidi, now 49, was the commander of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martry's Brigades in Jenin during the Second Intifada. He ordered an attack on a Likud polling center in Beit Shean in 2002 in which six people were killed while voting in a party primary. He also claimed responsibility for a 2004 bombing in Tel Aviv that killed one and injured 30, and carried out or attempted several shooting attacks on Israel buses. Zubeidi was one of 110 terrorists released on Thursday for hostages Gadi Moses, Arbel Yehud and Agam Berger.
Zubeidi was one of six prisoners who briefly escaped from Gilboa prison in 2021, before being recaptured. Zubeidi is especially popular among Palestinians because he managed to escape several Israeli assassination attempts during the Second Intifada.
Many of the 1,027 terrorists freed in the Gilad Shalit exchange of 2011 returned to terror, including Yahya Sinwar, who masterminded the October 7 attacks. Ronen Bar, head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), reportedly told government ministers in January that 82 per cent of the prisoners released for Shalit returned to terror.
The army's Jenin raid, dubbed "Operation Iron Wall," launched on January 21, comes on the heels of the Palestinian Authority's failed crackdown in the Jenin refugee camp. Raids expanded to Tulkarem. Security forces have arrested dozens of wanted Palestinian terrorists, seized weapons, and uncovered an bomb-making laboratory.
Previous Israeli counterterror operations in 2023 and 2024 in the Jenin camp uncovered a tunnel shaft, a rocket launcher, large amounts of weapons and bomb-making laboratories. As of 2023, just over 24,000 registered refugees were living in the camp that Palestinians have dubbed "The Martyr's Capital." (ANI/TPS)