After holding a threat assessment, commanders decided to bolster the police presence, particularly in Jerusalem, border areas, and central cities.

Ten Palestinians, mostly members of terror groups, were killed in heavy clashes in Shechem when Israeli security forces entered the city to arrest two Palestinians connected to the murder of Staff-Sgt. Ido Baruch in a drive-by shooting in northern Samaria in October.

Residents of the city were called to join the fighting in social media messages and announcements from local mosques. Footage posted on social media included the sounds of explosions and gunfire.

According to the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry, 102 Palestinians were injured. The PA did not specify how many of the injured had participated in the violence. A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said no soldiers were injured.

The fugitives, Husam Isleem and Muhammed al-Junaidi, barricaded themselves inside a house and were killed in a shootout. Isleem and Junaidi were members of Lion’s Den and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) respectively. After the firefight, soldiers found a weapons cache inside the home.

Other Palestinians who Israeli security forces identified as killed included Muhammad Abu Bakr, a leader of the PIJ-aligned al-Quds Brigades, Musab Awais, a leader of another terror group known as the Balata Brigade, Muhammad a-Fatah of PIJ and Walid Dahil of the Lions Den.

In an ongoing sweep against terror in Judea and Samaria, the Israel Defense Forces have thwarted 500 terror attacks and arrested more than 2,500 suspects. Operation Wave Breaker was launched following a surge of Palestinian terror attacks in the spring of 2022 which killed 19 people.

Image - Israel Police Spokesperson