A monthlong joint operation by the IDF, Israel Police Special Forces and the Shin Bet security agency to hunt down the perpetrator of the terrorist shooting at the Samaria outpost Givat Asaf in December ended Monday night when security forces arrested the shooter, Assam Barghouti.
The shooting claimed the lives of Staff Sgt. Yovel Mor Yosef and Sgt. Yosef Cohen, who were on guard duty at the time of the attack.
Barghouti was also involved in the shooting at a hitchhiking post outside of the Ofra settlement, also in Samaria, that same week, with his brother Salah Barghouti. The shooting wounded eight Israelis, including Shira Ish-Ran, who was 30 weeks pregnant. Her son, Amiad Yisrael, was delivered in an emergency C-section and succumbed to his in-utero injuries after a few days in intensive care.
On Dec. 12, Salah was killed in a shoot-out with security forces when they tried to arrest him in the village of Kauber near Ramallah.
IDF and Shin Bet personnel closed in on Assam Barghouti at the home of a resident of the village Abu Shukheidim, north of Ramallah, who was hiding him. At the time of his arrest, Barghouti was preparing more attacks on Israelis. The forces who took him into custody also found and confiscated a Kalashnikov rifle, large stocks of ammunition, and night vision equipment.
During the hunt for Barghouti, the IDF and Shin Bet arrested dozens of Palestinians from villages in the Binyamin region suspected of providing him assistance and of involvement in Hamas terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank.
Police Special Forces Cmdr. N., whose troops were also part of the arrest operation, said, "We had no doubt that we'd get to Assam Barghouti and arrest him. The police special forces' cooperation with other security branches, including the Shin Bet, is what leads to operational success time after time. That is what will continue to ensure that a despicable murderer doesn't escape the long arm of the special forces."
