A member of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Security Services who fired on a school bus last week surrendered to Israeli authorities on Sunday.
The suspect, 27-year-old Sgt. Abu Rida al-Saadi, turned himself in to troops who were searching for him in the Jordan Valley town of al-Auja.
“No one should be surprised that a Palestinian security officer was involved in terror,” Itamar Marcus, founder and director of Palestinian Media Watch, told The Press Service of Israel. “The Palestinian Authority has been bragging for several years about the high number of security officers who have been involved in terror.”
Marcus added that more than 1,500 terror attacks in 2023 were led by members of the Palestinian Authority Security Services or members of Fatah.
Three Israelis were injured when Saadi shot at several vehicles, including two school buses, on Route 90 north of Jericho on Thursday.
According to Hadas Hadas Tzur Gozlan, the Security Officer of Jordan Valley Regional Council, the area of the village of al Auja is being reinforced by soldiers and that rabbis were instructed to accompany the student transports that are not bulletproof.
Two of the victims suffered gunshot wounds. The third victim, a 13-year-old boy from nearby Moshav Petza’el, was lightly injured by shards of glass and has already been released from the hospital.
Golan confirmed to The Press Service of Israel on Thursday that the two gunshot victims are “anarchists” from Jerusalem known for frequently harassing local Jordan Valley Jewish residents and security personnel. TPS-IL has learned that they came from a left-wing organization called “Looking the Occupation in the Eye.”
Palestinian Authority Arab terror attacks have surged during the Islamic month of Ramadan.
