For seven years 36-year-old Khaled Shawish has evaded arrest by Israeli security forces, making the prominent al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades commander one of the most wanted figures in the West Bank.

But on Monday afternoon a joint IDF, Police Counter-Terrorism and Shin Bet operation led a Special Forces team to arrest him in his private vehicle in Ramallah.

Originally from Jenin, Shawish has spent the past several years hiding in the Muqata compound in central Ramallah and was one of the many who barricaded themselves inside the compound during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.

Israeli security forces have linked Shawish with dozens of terror attacks and attempted attacks inside Israel, all of which resulted in the murders of eight Israelis and the wounding of dozens more.

In December 2000 Shawish was involved in the attack on the car of Benjamin Kahane, son of Rabbi Meir Kahane, near the settlement of Ofra. Benjamin and his wife were shot dead and their five daughters were seriously wounded in the attack.

Wounded in shootout with IDF troops

Among the more well-known attacks Shawish is charged with directing are: the 2002 suicide bombing of King George Street in Jerusalem, a second suicide bombing in 2002 carried out by a female bomber at a checkpoint along a main traffic route outside Jerusalem and a shooting attack at the French Hill neighborhood in northern Jerusalem.

Shawish was wounded in a shootout with IDF troops during an arrest attempt in 2001 but managed to escape. His injuries eventually rendered him handicapped and he cut back on active operations. Security officials said however that Shawish continued to be heavily involved in planning new attacks.

On several occasions Palestinian Authority officials attempted to strike a deal with Israel which would allow Shawish to exit the country for surgery abroad but the talks never progressed.