According to Palestinian sources, Murad Nazmi Razak al-Ajlouni, 46, a notorious terrorist from Kafr Aqab in northern Jerusalem, was rearrested overnight, between Wednesday and Thursday, by Israeli soldiers who raided his home.
Al-Ajlouni, an operative of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (the armed wing of Fatah), was sentenced to three life terms for his role in a deadly shooting attack in Tel Aviv in 2002, in which three Israeli civilians were killed. He was released in February 2025 as part of the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, and was welcomed in Kafr Aqab as a returning hero.
The Sea Food Market attack in Tel Aviv
On March 2, 2002, during the Second Intifada, Ibrahim Hassouneh, a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, carried out a shooting attack at the Sea Food Market restaurant in Tel Aviv’s port area. Three Israeli civilians were murdered: Batya Nachmani (40), Tamar Halperin (58), and Orit Peled (31). Twenty others were wounded before Hassouneh was killed in an exchange of fire with security guards.
At the time just 23 years old, al-Ajlouni served as the driver of Hassouneh and other cell members. According to the indictment filed in the Jerusalem District Court, he met Hassouneh at the al-Amari refugee camp near Ramallah, drove him to secure a vehicle, and transported the cell to Tel Aviv. He also illegally transported weapons.
In March 2003, under a plea bargain, al-Ajlouni confessed to three counts of murder, 20 counts of attempted murder, and illegal transport of weapons. He was sentenced to three life terms and an additional 20 years. The Jerusalem District Court ruled that he had “played a significant role” in carrying out the attack.
Hostage deal and release in February 2025
Al-Ajlouni was released on February 15, 2025, in one of the waves of the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. After serving some 23 years in prison, he was transferred from Ofer Prison to Ramallah through the Beitunia crossing, escorted by the Red Cross. In Ramallah, he and other freed terrorists were received as heroes by large crowds chanting and celebrating. Arriving in Kafr Aqab, his hometown in northern Jerusalem, he was paraded through the streets on the shoulders of cheering residents.
Rearrest in northern Jerusalem
Last night, Israeli security forces raided his house and arrested him again, as part of a wider operation of raids and arrests across the West Bank. Palestinian footage shows al-Ajlouni being taken from his home by Israeli soldiers and loaded into a vehicle bound for prison once more.
Palestinian sources frame his arrest as a “violation of the agreement” in the hostage deal, presenting it as part of what they call “suppression of resistance prisoners” following the exchange.
(Heartbreaking WhatsApp – outside PM residence in Jerusalem)
