By Michael Bachner/TPS
Israeli security agencies have cleared for publication that forces arrested five Palestinian Authority Arabs, who are suspected of committing an October 11 shooting attack against IDF troops near the village of Ni’lin in the Binyamin region.
A security source told Tazpit Press Service (TPS) that on the eve of the Jewish fast day of Yom Kippur, an IDF lookout alerted forces to four suspicious figures near the security barrier in the area of Ni’lin. The suspects then fired shot towards the soldiers, who returned fire.
No Israelis were hurt in the attack.
The suspects fled, the source continued, and IDF and Shin Bet forces then conducted an operation in the village during the night, arresting several individuals suspected of committing the attack. Two days later forces arrested additional suspects of aiding the shooters, and discovered and seized the weapon and vehicle used in the attack.
The Shin Bet investigation revealed that the terrorists purchased weapons from a dealer in Samaria before committing the shooting attack.
The five suspects, all from Ni’lin, were identified as 39-year-old Barakat Hawaja, who is involved in activities involving weapons, Hamza Nafa (20 years old), Khalil Othman (23), Mahmoud Hawaja (24), and a 16-year-old minor who is suspected of involvement in riots.