Ahmed Jarrar, 22, who headed the terrorist cell that carried out a deadly shooting attack near Havat Gilad which resulted in the death of Rabbi Raziel Shevach several weeks ago, was the son of senior Hamas terrorist Nasser Jarar, who was killed by the IDF during the 2002 Operation Defensive Shield.
Jarar Sr. masterminded several mega-attacks against Israelis, among them a double suicide bombing inside green-line Israel. He had been detained by Israel on and off between the late 1980s and 1996.
Jarar Jr. was eliminated overnight Thursday by IDF forces in Jenin.
Security forces reached Ahmed Jarar and the rest of his terrorist cell following an intelligence operation led by the Shin Bet, which located their hideout in Jenin. IDF soldiers arrived at the homes of the suspects and succeeded in hitting them. This was followed by tractors and bulldozers that brought down those homes, burying at least one terrorist under the rubble.
Two fighters were injured, one seriously, from fire that had opened at them from one of the homes. They were evacuated to hospital, where the condition of the seriously wounded fighter has since improved.
Disturbances broke out in the area and continued after the end of the encounter.
Nasser Jarar, 44 at the time, was killed in August 2002 by IDF and Border Police in the village of Tubas, northeast of Shechem. Before his death he had been planning a major showcase attack on a high-rise building in a central location in Israel. He controlled several explosives laboratories in Shechem and Jenin which also contained parts of Qassam rockets.
In May 2001, Jarar Sr. was injured in a “work accident” while placing explosive charges and lost both his legs and one of his hands. However, his severe handicap did not prevent him from continuing his activities, recruiting terror operatives and launching several suicide attacks.
In the afternoon of August 13, 2002, soldiers secretly surrounded the house where Nasser Jarar had been hiding with some of his aides. Tanks and bulldozers were also brought to the place. The soldiers called for the wanted Jarar to come out, but were not answered. They then sent a neighbor to knock on his door and ask him to surrender, warning Jarar on a megaphone that the man was approaching. A burst of fire from inside the house took down the neighbor.
There was an exchange of gunfire and the IDF sent bulldozers in to demolish the house, with the wanted man and others still inside.
The house in which Jarar was killed was his operational hideout. It is still unclear who killed him, but one of them was lightly wounded and was transferred to a hospital in Israel.