The IDF has increased counter-terror operations in the West Bank due to a decrease in the readiness of the Palestinian Authority security forces to crack down on Hamas and Islamic Jihad infrastructure.
Stepped-up Israeli activity is partially the cause of a recent increase in clashes in West Bank cities. Israeli security officials have noticed in recent months how PA security forces have scaled back operations.
Three Palestinians were killed by IDF fire on Thursday morning, one in the West Bank, one in Jerusalem and one next to the perimeter fence in the northern Gaza Strip.
One town of particular concern for the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the IDF is Jenin and its surrounding villages, where the military has been operating recently to break up a Hamas cell.
Early on Thursday morning, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist was shot dead after he opened fire at Israeli troops operating in Burkin near Jenin.
The man was identified as 22-year-old Alaa Nasser Zyoud, an operative in the terrorist movement Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades. The group later confirmed he was a member of the organization.
Troops from the Border Police undercover unit and the IDF’s Haruv counter-terrorism reconnaissance unit entered the town as part of an ongoing crackdown against a large Hamas cell operating in the area and planning terror attacks.
According to the IDF, troops acted against a number of targets in Burkin, including in the yard where a firefight broke out on Sunday between Duvdevan troops and an armed Palestinian terrorist.
Clashes later erupted during the arrest operation, with Zyoud allegedly opening fire. IDF soldiers and Border Police officers returned fire, hitting him and confiscating his weapon, a Carlo submachine gun.
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