IDF nabs 10 Palestinians suspected of aiding terrorist who murdered Rabbi Mark

Separately, PA security forces member arrested in Nablus for manufacturing and dealing in weapons.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Updated: AUGUST 2, 2016 00:38
IDF troops operating in the West Bank (photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)
IDF troops operating in the West Bank
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)
IDF units raided the West Bank town of Dura before dawn Monday, arresting 10 people suspected of helping 29-year-old Muhammad Fakia, who killed of Rabbi Michael Mark in a terrorist drive-by shooting on July 1.
Among those arrested were weapons dealers suspected of assisting Fakia and relatives of the gunman.
In the July attack, Fakia, who was shot dead in a heavy exchange of fire with security forces in Tzurif, near Hebron, last week, fired from a moving vehicle on Mark’s car on Route 60, killing him and wounding his wife and two of his children.
Separately, the IDF, Border Police and Shin Bet intelligence agency have shut down three weapons workshops in Kalkilya. Elsewhere across the West Bank, the IDF and Shin Bet arrested 27 wanted security suspects.
The Shin Bet also announced that it had arrested Palestinian Authority security forces member Ahayub Knaza in Nablus, on suspicion of acting as a senior weapons manufacturer and dealer in the city.
Earlier, Sunday night, security guards from the Defense Ministry’s Crossings Authority intercepted an attempt to smuggle six pipe bombs into Israel from the West Bank.
Guards checked a vehicle with Israeli license plates that arrived at the Trans-Samaria checkpoint on Route 5 driven by an Israeli Arab, which was found to contain the explosive materials. A police bomb squad arrived at the checkpoint to investigate further, closing the highway in both directions.
The suspect, who was taken into custody, told security forces he was on his way back from the West Bank.