IDF raids Samaria home of Hamas second-in-command

Israeli forces on Saturday raided the Samaria home of top Hamas commander Saleh al-Arouri and detained several of his relatives, according to French news agency AFP.

Al-Arouri, the commander of Hamas operations in Judea in Samaria and the deputy of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, is currently based in Lebanon.

Israeli forces entered al-Arouri’s home in the village of Arura north of Ramallah at dawn, and arrested more than 20 people, including one of his brothers and nine of his nephews, according to AFP.

Israeli forces reportedly thereafter raised a banner over the home showing al-Arouri on the backdrop of an Israeli flag and captioned: “This was the house of Saleh al-Arouri and has become the headquarters of Abu al-Nimer – Israeli intelligence.”

Abu al-Nimer is reportedly an alias for the Israeli intelligence officer responsible for the area. Al-Arouri is credited with orchestrating the deep relationship between Hamas and Iran, and also played a key role in re-establishing the Palestinian terrorist group’s ties with Damascus, which were severed in 2012 during the Syrian Civil War.

He was recruited into Hamas in 1985 while studying Sharia law at Hebron University and has served 18 years in Israeli prisons. He was deported to Syria in 2010.

Overnight Friday, the IDF arrested a total of 89 Palestinians, including 68 Hamas terrorists, during raids across Judea and Samaria. Israeli forces also demolished the home of the Hamas terrorist responsible for the murder of American-Israeli Elan Ganeles on Feb. 27 near Jericho.

JNS.org contributed to this report.

Israel Hayom is owned by the Adelson family, including Dr. Miriam Adelson, which also owns the Review-Journal.