Israel arrests senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad official's son in Jenin

The August arrest of Palestinian Islamic Jihad official Bassam al-Saadi led the IDF to launch Operation Breaking Dawn in Gaza.

 Israeli forces operate in the West Bank as part of Operation Break the Wave, December 5, 2022 (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
Israeli forces operate in the West Bank as part of Operation Break the Wave, December 5, 2022
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The son of senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad official Bassam al-Saadi, Yahya al-Saadi, was arrested by Israeli forces amid armed clashes in Jenin early Monday morning, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.

In August, Bassam al-Saadi was arrested in Jenin, sparking heavy restrictions on Gaza border communities amid threats of retaliation by the Islamic Jihad movement. After about five days of restrictions, Israel launched Operation Breaking Dawn, striking Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip as over 1,000 rockets were fired towards Israel by Palestinian terrorists.

Bassam al-Saadi was indicted by IDF military prosecutors in late August.

The arrest of Yahya al-Saadi, also a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, comes just a day after a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel and just days after Muhammad al-Saadi, a commander in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's Jenin Brigade, was killed in armed clashes with Israeli forces in Jenin.

IDF soldiers operate in the West Bank as part of Operation Break the Wave, December 2022 (Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

14 Palestinians arrested overnight as part of Operation Break the Wave

The IDF, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Border Police arrested 14 suspects across the West Bank as part of Operation Break the Wave overnight, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.

Early Monday morning, one Palestinian was killed and six others were injured during clashes with Israeli forces in the Dheisheh refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, according to Palestinian reports. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) announced that the killed Palestinian was a member of the movement.

Three suspects affiliated with the PFLP were arrested by Israeli forces in Dheisheh, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit. During the arrests, Palestinians threw stones, Molotov cocktails and explosives at the Israeli forces who responded with fire, hitting a number of suspects.

Israeli forces also operated in Beit Kahal, Samua, Tapuah, Beit Awa, Kalkiliya, Nilin and Kifal Harat and arrested another nine suspects.