Four Palestinian militants suspected of committing last month’s heinous terror attack near the West Bank settlement of Dolev have been captured in a joint operation by the Israeli Shin Bet Security Service, with IDF and Israeli police forces. 17-year-old Israeli Rina Shnerb was killed and her 19-year-old brother Dvir and father Eitan were critically injured in the terrorist bombing. All of the Palestinian cell members belong to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror faction.
So-called “aggressive methods” of interrogation have been utilized to extract vital information to prevent additional acts of violence against Israeli civilians and soldiers. Shin Bet officials insisted that all of the questioning has been conducted under the guidance of legal counsel, and further underscored the methods have proven successful. The suspects reportedly revealed that they had been planning to carry out additional imminent shooting attacks and kidnappings. In addition, one of the cell members directed the Shin Bet to a location where an explosive device was uncovered similar to that used in the August 23, 2019 attack on the Shnerb family.
Following interrogation, the cell’s commander, 44-year-old Samer Mina Salim Arbid. was evacuated to the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, reportedly in critical condition. The Shin Bet issued a statement that the suspect “was sent to a hospital” where he received “medical examination and treatment” in accordance with regulation, after saying he felt unwell. The questioning of the terrorist cell is still underway, and it is not permitted to reveal any further information.
Arbid is a resident of the West Bank city of Ramallah, and considered one of the area’s highest-ranking PFLP figures. He has been a wanted fugitive for years, for his role as a bomb expert who helped facilitate multiple attacks against Israelis during the Second Intifada – a violent period that claimed the lives of more than a thousand Israelis in numerous terrorist acts.