Via IPT:
At a time when threats from organized Palestinian terrorism are being effectively contained in the West Bank, Israeli security forces are now on the lookout for a new and troublesome phenomenon: The rise of al-Qaida-inspired Salafi-jihadi terrorist cells.
The heightened state of alert to this new threat took effect last month, when an unprecedented security incident took place.
A Salafi-jihadi cell, armed with guns and explosives, set out from the Hebron area to carry out a series of attacks. The first intended targets were IDF soldiers; and later, the cell planned to strike targets affiliated with the Palestinian Authority – both equally worthy of attack according to the worldview of Salafi-jihadis. According to this view, any state or system of government that isn’t based on a literal interpretation of Islamic law, and which is not part of a caliphate state, is completely illegitimate.
The cell was under close surveillance by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency). Israel’s elite Counter-Terrorism Unit moved in to intercept cell members after they got into a vehicle, armed with guns and bombs, to carry out their jihad mission.
The unit surprised the terrorists as they drove in the village of Yatta, near Hebron, on the evening of Nov. 26. Security forces shot at the tires of the suspects’ vehicle, and the Palestinian gunmen fired back, leading to a fire fight that ended with the deaths of the two terrorists.
Soon after, Counter-Terrorism Unit members caught up with a third member of the cell at a hideout in Yatta, and after a brief exchange of fire, shot him dead. Five additional Palestinians were arrested on suspicion of being accomplices.
It was the first time that the Israeli defense establishment had engaged armed Salafi-jihadis in the West Bank. Although the attack was thwarted, it still set off a warning bell.