Undercover Israeli forces, also known as Mista’arvim, assassinated four Palestinian men in Nablus city, in the northern occupied West Bank on Wednesday, October 9. The assassination took place in a crowded street, where four Israeli armed men, who disguised themselves as Arabs, opened fire at four men inside a car, in full view of passersby.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the four slain men as Abdul Halim Nasser (43 years old), Salim Abu Saadah (41 years old), Naim Abdul Hadi (32 years old), and Issam al-Sallaj (31 years old).
Al-Sallaj was known as the commander of the Youth of Revenge and Liberation Brigade, which is affiliated with Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement Fatah. The rest of the slain men were Palestinian resistance fighters. According to media reports, Al-Sallaj survived four previous assassination attempts by Israel, and was arrested once by the Palestinian Authority’s security forces during the last few years.
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas condemned the assassination incident in a statement on Wednesday considering it as “a heinous Israeli crime that is added to the occupation’s record of terrorism”. “The resistance in Nablus and all the governorates of the West Bank will remain unbreakable despite the brutality of the occupation,” Hamas asserted in its statement.
Who are the Mista’arvim?
Mista’arvim is a Hebrew word which means those who “disguise themselves as Arabs”. The establishment of the first Mista’arvim unit is traced back to 1942, before Israel occupied Palestine in 1948. The unit was originally part of the Jewish Palmach, which was an elite division of the Haganah militia, and later the core of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).
The Mista’arvim dress like Palestinian protesters, speak the Palestinian dialect of Arabic, and exhibit the mannerisms of Palestinian people. They are chosen for their similar physical appearance, which is similar to Arabs, and they undergo a comprehensive training process. They complete courses on Palestinian social and religious customs, Arabic language and culture, in addition to engaging in field and operations training.
Their duties include undercover policing, gathering intelligence information, infiltration and riot control, carrying out covert operations, and assassinations. The Mista’arvim are best known for infiltrating and disrupting nonviolent Palestinian protests in order to arrest demonstrators. They usually operate in groups of five to ten members, positioning themselves among the protesters. They even wear keffiyehs, hurl rocks, and burn tires during protests. As Palestinians have become more aware of the Mista’arvim, they began to tuck their shirts into their waistbands, so they can recognize each other and avoid being harmed or arrested by these Israeli undercover forces.
Israel has even used the Mista’arvim to kidnap and kill Palestinians inside hospitals. One of the incidents took place in January 2024, when a group of Mista’arvim disguised as Palestinian medical staff and civilians snuck into a hospital in the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, then shot dead three Palestinians inside the hospital.
