Jerusalem, 26 December 2002
Details of ISA/IDF anti-terror activity in Judea and Samaria
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
During the last 24 hours, the ISA, in cooperation with the IDF, has
carried out wide-ranging counter-terrorist actions in Judea and
Samaria, during which several terrorists - who had been engaged in
directing and perpetrating attacks against Israeli targets - were
arrested or killed, as detailed below.
Kabatiyah/Jenin
Yusuf (Hamza) Muhammad Khalil Abu Roub, 40, the head of Islamic Jihad
in Kabatiyah and senior Islamic Jihad terrorist in the Jenin area,
was killed during an initiated action by the ISA and a Golani Brigade
force. The action continued for several hours, during which Hamza
opened fire and threw grenades at the Golani force, wounding four
soldiers - one seriously and three lightly.
Hamza was responsible for bombing a factory at Kibbutz Shaked on
November 5, 2001 in which three people were injured - one moderately
and two lightly. Hamza received the bomb in advance from the then
head of Islamic Jihad in Jenin, Iyad Sawalha, and dispatched the
terrorist who actually planted the bomb.
Hamza was behind the September 18, 2002 bombing at Umm Al Fahm
junction, in which an Israel police officer was murdered and an
Israeli civilian was seriously injured. Hamza videotaped the
suicide-terrorist, prepared the bomb and directed the logistical
planning for the attack.
Hamza was also responsible for various shooting attacks and
maintained contacts with senior Islamic Jihad terrorists in Samaria.
An expert in the preparation and manufacture of explosives, Hamza had
in recent days been engaged in planning an additional suicide attack
inside Israel.
Hamza had been imprisoned in Israel several times and was last
released in 1996.
Ramallah
The ISA and IDF forces arrested Hamas terrorist Iman Amar Rashid in
Ramallah this afternoon. During the arrest, Rashid and Bassam Ashkar,
another Hamas terrorist who was with him, drew pistols with the
intention of shooting at the security forces. The IDF force returned
fire and killed Ashkar. Rashid has been held for questioning by the
security forces. An M-16, two pistols, magazines and JD 25,000 were
confiscated from the terrorists.
Iman Rashid, 36, originally from the village of Na'ama, east of
Ramallah, is a Hamas veteran and had previously been arrested. In
recent years, he lived in Beituniyah and served, among others, as a
bodyguard for senior Ramallah Hamas officials Hassan Yusuf Khalil and
Jamal Tawil, who were arrested earlier this year during the course of
Operation Defensive Shield.
The questioning of Hamas terrorists revealed that Rashid was
responsible for several deadly attacks in the past year, including
the March 9, 2002 suicide attack at Cafe Moment in Jerusalem, in
which 11 Israeli civilians were murdered; the May 7, 2002 suicide
bombing of a Rishon Letzion billiards club, in which 15 Israelis were
murdered; the July 31, 2002 Hebrew University bombing, in which four
Israelis and five foreign nationals were murdered; the September 19,
2002 suicide bombing of a No. 4 Dan bus in Tel Aviv, in which six
Israelis were murdered; and two attempted attacks, at the Pi Glilot
fuel depot and on the Tel Aviv promenade
Tulkarm
Jamal Yihye, 31, was killed early this morning during clashes with
IDF forces. Yihye was a senior member of the Tanzim and spent the
last few months planning terrorist attacks against military and
civilian targets in the Tulkarm area and along the seam line, and had
perpetrated many shooting attacks since the beginning of the current
wave of Palestinian violence.
Yihye was a member of the Tulkarm Tanzim infrastructure which was
responsible for several terror attacks including the October 29, 2002
infiltration of the northern Samaria community of Hermesh, in which
three women were murdered, and the November 10, 2002 attack on
Kibbutz Metzer, in which five Israelis were murdered. Yihye was
personally involved in attempting to dispatch suicide terrorists into
Israel.
Kalkilya
A joint ISA-IDF operation today arrested Talal Ibrahim Al-Rahman
Sharim, 43, head of Hamas in the city, and Nasser Al-Fatah Abdullah
Nazal, 33, head of the Hamas military wing in the city. The two were
discovered hiding behind a refrigerator in their apartment.
The two were involved in perpetrating the March 28, 2001 suicide
attack at a petrol station at Neveh Yamin junction, in which two
youths were murdered and four others injured; the June 1, 2001
suicide attack on the Dolphinarium nightclub in Tel Aviv, in which 22
people were murdered and 86 injured; and the October 10, 2002 suicide
attack near Bar Ilan University on highway #4, in which an elderly
woman was murdered.
This widespread operation carried out over the past 24 hours is a
significant step in disrupting the ability of the various terrorist
organizations to perpetrate large-scale deadly terrorist attacks.
For information on the victims of the aforementioned terror attacks,
see: Victims of Palestinian Violence and Terror since Sept 2000 and
In Memoriam.