Shin Bet arrests six Palestinians in Jenin over rocket plot
Security agencies say the group conducted three launch tests and obtained materials through a messaging app before being detained.
By Alina Carter ·
Six Palestinians from the Jenin area in the northern West Bank face detention following a security operation to dismantle a suspected rocket-building network. The Shin Bet security agency and the Israel Police confirmed the arrests on Tuesday, citing evidence of a coordinated effort to manufacture and launch projectiles toward Israel.
The joint statement detailed that investigators discovered the cell had already produced one rocket and various explosive devices. The group reportedly carried out at least three test launches to evaluate the power and range of their creations. The primary suspect, who admitted to founding the cell and identifying its members, stated that the tests yielded successful results. He further claimed the group made technical improvements after each launch in preparation for subsequent attempts.
Authorities noted that the cell received specific information regarding the materials needed to build explosives via a messaging application. This communication came from an outside source who was in contact with the main suspect. Another detainee acknowledged the group's role in procuring the necessary explosives. During the operation, forces seized an assault rifle, a rocket-propelled grenade, and written documents containing instructions for manufacturing the devices.
Prosecutors are expected to file formal indictments against the six individuals within the coming days. The statement described the seized materials as instructions for rockets and explosives intended for use against the State of Israel and its security forces.
In a separate development in the same area, Border Police officers captured two suspects in the village of Kafr Dan near Jenin. The raid, conducted on Monday, targeted a wanted man affiliated with Fatah, the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority. Police stated he had been hiding from security forces for an extended period while maintaining ties to terror activity. Undercover officers surrounded a clothing store where he was allegedly sheltering and called for his surrender. The man exited the building with his hands raised and was arrested at the scene. The store owner was also detained on suspicion of harboring the wanted suspect.
Palestinian media reported additional incidents of settler violence in the West Bank over the same period. Overnight, extremist settlers set fire to two vehicles and part of an unoccupied building in the South Hebron Hills, leaving Hebrew graffiti that read "Evictions = chaos." Similar fires damaged several vehicles in the village of Majdal Bani Fadil in the Nablus area. No injuries were reported in these specific incidents. One day earlier, Israeli security forces arrested 18 settlers who rioted and attacked troops during the evacuation of an illegal outpost in the northern West Bank.
These events occur amid a rise in settler violence against Palestinians this year, a trend that intensified in the weeks leading up to last week's inconclusive election. The election result left both the coalition under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the opposition bloc without a clear path to forming a new government. Netanyahu has described the surge in violence as the work of a small number of delinquents from outside the West Bank, while critics argue the government is condoning the attacks that have displaced dozens of Palestinian families.
