23 April 2002
IDF Kills Head of Tanzim Military Wing in the Hebron Area
(Communicated by the IDF Spokesman)
IDF forces tonight attacked and killed Marwan Zaloum, 43, of Hebron,
who served as head of the military wing of the Tanzim in the entire
Hebron area.
Since the beginning of the violence in October 2000, Zaloum served as
the head of a military apparatus, which carried out suicide bombings,
hundreds shooting attacks, and detonated explosive charges against
Israeli targets. Dozens of Tanzim operatives carried out these
attacks. In security terms, Marwan Zalum was the equivalent of an
entire armed militia.
Zaloum operated under the authority of Biab Sharabathi, chairman of
the Tanzim in Hebron, with the approval of senior Palestinian
Authority officials.
In various interviews he gave to the media, Zaloum expressed his
support of terrorist attacks against Israelis. In an interview to the
Sky News network on 8 February 2002, for instance, he said: "They
(the Israelis) can imagine what will happen to them if Al-Aksa
members carry out ten bombings in one hour."
Following are some of the major terrorist attack carried out by
Marwan Zaloum or members of his military apparatus. The attacks were
carried out under his direct orders:
- 11 explosive charges were detonated on bypass roads near Hebron
against Israeli targets between November 2000 and May 2001; no
casualties.
- 9 July 2001 - An explosive charge was detonated at an Israeli army
jeep, south of Hebron. An Israeli officer was killed and two soldiers
were wounded.
- 12 April 2002 - A suicide bombing on Jaffa Road in Jerusalem, which
claimed the lives of six Israelis and wounded 85.
- Hundreds of shooting attacks in the Hebron area since the beginning
of October 2000, including numerous attack against the Jewish
community in Hebron and the bypass roads in the Hebron area.
Examples of some of the major shooting attacks include:
- Shooting at an IDF force in Hebron on 2 January 2001; an IDF
soldier was moderately wounded, another lightly wounded.
- Shooting at the Jewish community in Hebron on 26 March 2001, which
claimed the life of an infant, Shalhevet Pass.
- Shooting at the Jewish community in Hebron on 25 June 2001, as a
result of which four IDF solders were wounded, an Israeli civilian
was killed and another civilian lightly wounded.
- A shooting attack carried out at the entrance of Kiryat Arba, in
which an Israeli civilian was killed and another lightly wounded.