Asim Barghouti, who participated in the shooting attack at a bus stop outside Givat Assaf on Dec. 13, was arrested overnight Tuesday. He and his brother Salah Barghouti also carried out a shooting attack at a bus stop in Ofra on Dec. 9. The brother was killed during his arrest attempt on Dec. 12.
In those attacks, two IDF soldiers and a newborn baby were killed and several civilians were wounded, including the baby’s mother who was pregnant with it.
Asim Barghouti was arrested at the home of one of his supporters in the village of Abu Shakhidam, which is near his home village. He had spent the past few days preparing to carry out additional attacks.
A Kalashnikov rifle, a large ammunition stash and night vision equipment were seized during the arrest.
The overnight arrest was carried out by Shin Bet and Special Police forces, at the culmination of an intelligence and operational effort that began immediately after the attack. In the course of the operation, the Shin Bet and the IDF employed intelligence, operational and technological capabilities to locate the terrorist, as well as old fashioned methods such as the arrest of dozens of Hamas operatives in the Binyamin area.
The assailant was transferred to for interrogation by the Shin Bet.