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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Palestinian terrorist cell killed by IDF drone strike near Jenin |
| 2023-06-22 |
| [JPost] Followup The cell has carried out several shooting attacks against settlements throughout the West Bank recently. The IDF on Wednesday night killed a terror cell in the West Bank using a drone, an unusual move generally reserved for targeting major terrorists or rocket-firing cells in Gaza. A joint statement by the IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said that intelligence from the domestic security agency had located the terror cell in real-time as it was perpetrating a shooting attack near Jalma in the Menashe region. According to the statement, this same terror cell has recently carried out a number of shooting attacks throughout Judea and Samaria. Once the cell was identified, the IDF gave a rapid order to have the drone fire on and kill the cell before they could escape again, as they have after past shootings. IDF WAS GIVEN GREEN LIGHT TO CONDUCT DRONE STRIKES IN SEPTEMBER The drone attack came only days after the IDF used a helicopter strike to help rescue ambushed soldiers in Jenin, signaling the defense establishment is taking off the gloves in the West Bank in an unprecedented way - at least in comparison to recent years dating back to Operation Defensive Shield in 2002. In September 2022, IDF commanders in the West Bank were given the green light to use armed drones to carry out targeted killings of Palestinian terrorists, with the approval of then chief of staff Aviv Kohavi. According to sources, commanders were then allowed to use the platforms not only as cover and intelligence for forces during operations but also to carry out strikes should armed gunmen be identified as posing imminent threats to their troops. The order came as Israeli security forces have encountered a significant rise in shooting attacks and massive gunfire during arrest raids, specifically in the northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus. However, it is only recently that drones, helicopters and other heavier firepower platforms are actually being used in a continuous way. |
| Posted by:Frank G |