Hebrew media reported that the Israeli security apparatus prepared for a possible retaliatory operation in southern Israel and the West Bank following the arrest of the Palestinian leader, Bassam al-Saadi, in Jenin.
According to the Hebrew channel N12, Israel sent a “strongly worded message to Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements through Egyptian mediators,” adding that Israel is not interested in escalation, but that the response will be severe to any violation of its sovereignty”
The channel said that “The arrest of Saadi was carried out after Israel realized that the Islamic Jihad returned to planning operations in the West Bank.”
According to the Israeli N12 channel, Israel understood that there was no escape except by arresting those behind the planned operations “even if the price was a security alert that paralyzes the lives of the residents of the Gaza Strip.”
The channel stated that “due to fears of retaliatory operations, and after the end of the IDF’s security assessment, the Eshkol Regional Council announced the continuation of the road closures in the Regional Council area as well today.”
