Fathi Khazem, founder of Jenin terror battalion and former PA colonel, eliminated in northern Samaria

The Elimination in Telafit

During an overnight operation in the village of Telafit, located in northern Samaria near the former communities of Ganim and Kadim, IDF soldiers encountered Fathi Khazem. According to reports, Khazem charged at the troops with a knife, prompting the soldiers to open fire and neutralize him. Khazem had been a wanted figure for years but had managed to evade capture, partly due to his high-level connections within the Palestinian Authority and a period of de facto immunity.

From PA Colonel to Terror Leader

Khazem’s trajectory from a senior officer in the Palestinian Authority to a central figure in the northern Samaria terror infrastructure made him a significant symbol. As a colonel in the PA forces, he defected to establish the Jenin Battalion, a coalition of various terror factions that transformed the Jenin refugee camp into a primary hub for attacks against Israelis.

His notoriety grew following the April 2022 terror attack on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv, carried out by his son, Raad Khazem. Following the attack, Fathi Khazem became a prominent voice of incitement, publicly praising his son's actions and refusing to surrender to Israeli authorities. Despite his active involvement in terror, reports indicate he previously received medical treatment in Ramallah, facilitated by senior PA officials, including Nidal Abu Dukhan and Hussein al-Sheikh.

Security Context and Immunity

For a significant period, Khazem was reportedly granted a level of immunity by the Israeli security establishment. This arrangement followed a deal involving the return of the body of Tiran Ferro, an Israeli Druze youth whose remains were snatched by gunmen in Jenin in late 2022. The elimination of Khazem marks the end of this period and a continued shift toward more aggressive counter-terror operations in northern Samaria. As The Zioneer reported earlier this month, the IDF has intensified its focus on dismantling the "Jenin model" of terror infrastructure, which Khazem helped pioneer.