15 January 2003
Closure of the Polytechnic University and the Islamic College in
Hebron
(Communicated by the IDF Spokesman)
As part of the ongoing war against terrorism and its infrastructures,
IDF forces closed last night (14 Jan 2003) three campuses of the
Polytechnic University, as well as the Islamic College, both in
Hebron.
For years, particularly since the beginning of the current conflict,
certain Palestinian academic institutions have become focal points
and havens for radical religious and nationalist activity for all the
terrorist organizations. The organizations have based most of their
operational infrastructure on students, while using the resources at
their disposal in the academic institutions.
The activity of the terrorist organizations includes the publication
and distribution of incitement materials, recruitment and instruction
of hundreds of operatives.
Amongst the suicide bombers that sprouted in the Polytechnic
University are: the Jerusalem bombers of 1996, three of the
terrorists responsible for the shooting attack along the
"Worshippers' Route" in Hebron, in which 12 Israelis were killed and
16 injured, the terrorist that infiltrated the community of Adura in
April 2002, in which 4 Israelis were killed and 7 injured, as well as
the terrorist that infiltrated the community of Otniel in December
2002, in which 7 Israelis were killed and 7 more were injured.
Among the many terrorists who studied at the Islamic College in
Hebron, is the terrorist responsible for the terror attack near the
Southern Command's Headquarters in Be'er Sheba in February 2002, in
which two IDF soldiers were killed. Two students, who are leaders of
the military wing of the Hamas in Hebron, admitted during questioning
to their direct involvement in the infiltration attack in Karmei Tzur
in June 2002, in which three Israelis were killed.
Documents confiscated by IDF forces during Operation Defensive
Shield show that in the laboratory of the Department of Chemistry in
the Sciences Faculty of the College, the Hamas leadership teaches its
operatives how to make explosives later used in terror attacks.
During the IDF operation last night, an explosive charge was
detonated toward the IDF forces. There were no casualties among the
IDF soldiers.
The large extent of suicide bombers originating from academic
institutions is an indication of the graveness of the aforementioned
phenomenon. It provides further evidence of the exploitation of
academic educational institutions by the Palestinian terror
organizations to direct, train and organize the terror
infrastructure. Moreover, these facts further demonstrate yet again
the exploitation of civilian resources by the Palestinian terror
organizations.