Brother of Dizengoff Attacker Arrested Planning Attack

Israeli special forces from the elite Duvdevan Unit arrested a suspect in Jenin on Monday morning who was allegedly planning an imminent terror attack inside Israel, the military announced. Muammar Hazam was detained in an operation conducted by the Menashe Brigade and directed by the Shin Bet security service.

The arrest came one week after Hazam's father, Fathi Hazam, was killed by Israeli forces during an operation in Jenin. According to military officials, the elder Hazam attempted to stab an IDF soldier during the raid and was shot by troops responding to the threat.

Following his father's death, intelligence indicated that Muammar Hazam expressed intentions to carry out an attack targeting Israeli civilians and security personnel. Acting on this information, Duvdevan operatives launched the targeted operation and apprehended him before he could execute his plans, officials said.

Muammar Hazam is also the brother of Raad Hazam, who carried out a deadly shooting attack on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv in 2022. That attack, which took place in the heart of Israel's commercial capital, killed three Israeli civilians and wounded six others.

The moments of arrest (IDF Spokesperson)

In a separate but concurrent operation, Israeli forces arrested another suspect in the village of Sanur, also within the Menashe Brigade's area of operations. That individual was detained Sunday and was allegedly working to advance a terror attack against Israeli civilians, according to Shin Bet-directed intelligence.

In total, the two operations resulted in the arrest of two suspects who the military says were independently working to carry out attacks against Israelis. The Sanur suspect was detained in his village, while Muammar Hazam was apprehended in Jenin during the specialized Duvdevan operation after he had expressed intent to harm both civilians and security forces.