A Tanzim operative from Nablus involved in carrying out shooting attacks near Joseph’s Tomb has been arrested by Israeli security forces.
Alam al-Ra’i, 42, was arrested in May in a joint operation by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), IDF and Israel Police, it was announced on Friday.
During his interrogation by the Shin Bet, it was understood that he had been recruited by Gazan resident Muhammed Madi to carry out terror attacks in the West Bank. He later also recruited additional operatives to join his cell in order to carry out operations against Israeli targets.
According to the agency, he also received funds to bolster his work.
The Shin Bet said that al-Ra’i was involved in two shooting attacks in the Joseph’s Tomb complex in the West Bank city of Nablus in April.
The 2006 attack
As part of the investigation, the agency collected evidence regarding his involvement in a Tanzim cell that carried out a number of attacks against IDF troops in Nablus between the years 2005-2007. Ra’i later revealed during his interrogation that he had been involved in a terror attack in 2006 that killed IDF soldier Sgt. Osher Damari and wounded several others.
The event, which took place during the Second Lebanon War, saw troops, from the Haruv Battalion, enter the Nablus casbah to capture wanted Palestinians.
Palestinians threw a powerful explosive device at them, killing Damari and wounding three other soldiers, including the son of the then-Central Command Head Yair Naveh.
The investigation found that Ra’i, along with other Palestinians, participated in dozens of shooting attacks against IDF troops and also planted explosive devices that could be remotely triggered. According to the Shin Bet, the cell planned to explode the device and then fire on troops in order to hit as many soldiers as they could.
Ra’i will be indicted by the military prosecution for many serious security offenses, including the murder of Damari.