Suspicion: Terrorist cell from Jenin planned to assassinate Defense Minister Israel Katz

First publication: The terrorist cell arrested tonight (Thursday) in Jenin allegedly planned to assassinate Defense Minister Israel Katz during the inauguration ceremony of the settlement of Ganim in northern Samaria, which was attended by other senior Israeli officials, including Minister Shlomo Karhi, MK Yuli Edelstein, and Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan.

The dramatic information was received yesterday evening by the Shin Bet and was immediately transferred to the Yamam. According to the suspicion, the three terrorists, described as members of a trained cell, were preparing to carry out the attack as early as this morning — during the ceremony attended by the Defense Minister.

Upon receiving the information, a race against time began. Within a few hours, Yamam fighters were deployed to the Jenin area, completed a hasty battle procedure, and received the green light to carry out the counter-terrorism operation.

In radio silence and with precise timing, the fighters simultaneously raided three different houses in Jenin where the cell members were staying. The three terrorists surrendered and were arrested before they could arm themselves, and were transferred to the Shin Bet for interrogation.

Alongside this, the possibility is also being taken into account that the terrorists planned to raid the new settlement and carry out a massacre there. In the operational command center sat the Commander of the Border Police, Superintendent Brick Yitzhak; the Commander of the Border Police in Judea and Samaria, Brigadier General Nisso Guetta; and the Commander of the Yamam, Brigadier General A.

The IDF stated:

"Tonight, Yamam fighters — the national counter-terrorism unit of the State of Israel, operated based on precise intelligence from the Shin Bet and led by the Menashe Brigade to arrest wanted individuals involved in terrorist activity in Jenin who, according to the suspicion, planned to carry out an attack in the immediate timeframe. The Yamam force arrived at the structure where the wanted individuals were hiding, breached the structure, and arrested the three wanted individuals. The wanted individuals were transferred for further interrogation by the Shin Bet."