1. On January 7, the Israeli security forces arrested two Fatah Tanzim operatives from the Balata refugee camp in Nablus . The two operatives, Youssef Youssef Abd al-Qader Saheli and Darwish Nimr Darwish Shaf’i, were preparing to perpetrate a suicide bombing attack in Israel that was to take place within several days. In their questioning, they said that there were two explosive belts in the apartment where they were staying. The explosive belts were found and detonated in a controlled explosion by IDF forces.
The two explosive belts seized following the arrest of the Fatah Tanzim operatives
(photograph by IDF Spokesman, January 7)
2. As part of the preparations for the suicide bombing attack, the two operatives were engaged in recruiting potential suicide bombers and acquiring explosive belts. For instance, Youssef Saheli used a contact man to recruit a 16-year-old boy who expressed his willingness to become a suicide bomber. Earlier, they recruited Muhammad Sa’id (who was also arrested before setting out to perpetrate the terrorist attack) and even filmed him before sending him to the suicide mission.
3. The two arrested men are Fatah Tanzim operatives from the Balata refugee camp, located on the outskirts of Nablus . Their arrest was followed by the arrest of two more terrorist operatives who were involved in setting explosive charges against IDF forces and preparing a suicide bombing attack in Israel . The detainees are part of the organization’s terrorist infrastructure, whose operatives continue striving to perpetrate terrorist attacks in Israeli territory, including suicide bombing attacks directed in part by operatives from the Gaza Strip. Nowadays, that infrastructure is one of the major hotspots of terrorism in Judea and Samaria .
