October 29, 2002
Terrorist Attacks Thwarted by Security Forces: 6-20 October
2002
(Communicated by Israeli security sources)
The following terrorist attacks were thwarted by the Israel Security
Agency (ISA), assisted by the IDF and the Israel police, during
the two-week period 6-20 October 2002.
The security forces broadened the scope of their activities during
this period in an attempt to foil the plans of the various terrorist
organizations, which continue to develop the suicide terror infrastructure
in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip.
These activities included the arrest of operatives involved in
preparing the infrastructure for carrying out suicide attacks
inside Israel, the arrest of potential suicide attackers, and
discovery of laboratories for the manufacture of explosives.
As a result of the efforts of the security forces, who have been
working around the clock during the past weeks, a number of suicide
attacks that were planned inside Israel and against Israeli military
and civilian targets in the territories were prevented.
One of the foiled attacks was to have taken place in the heart
of Tel Aviv. A suicide bomber tried to enter a coffee shop on
the promenade, but was arrested before he could carry out his
plans.
Foiled Attacks (by interception or arrest):
-
14 October: Vasim Sabaneh, aide to Riad Muhammad
Nazal, military operative in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad,
from Qabatiya, was involved in the preparation of bombs and
explosive belts. Vasim was involved in the suicide bombing at
Umm el-Fahm junction on 18 September, in which a policeman was
killed and two civilians injured.
-
Arrests:
9 October: Muhammad Halif, military Tanzim operative in Qalqilya,
was arrested on suspicion of planning to place a pipe bomb to
blow up a military jeep. The bomb was detonated under controlled
conditions.
-
9 October: Amira Gorg Ibrahim Habash, 17, resident
of Beit Hanina and Ramallah, was arrested on suspicion of offering
to entice a Jewish man to his death. She also instigated the
idea of placing a bomb at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
-
12 October: Security forces arrested three Tanzim
operatives from the Jenin area who were planning to commit a
mass murder attack inside Israel - Salah and A'al Jalabush from
Marakeh village, and Abd el-Hadi Guabra from Atzira Sma'ilia.
The three acted in conjunction with the Hamas in Jenin. Salah
and A'al confessed, during questioning by the ISA, that they
attempted to smuggle a suicide bomber into Israel two weeks
ago. The latter set out to commit the attack, but changed his
mind. The two were also involved in the planning of another
suicide attack.
-
13 October: Samir Yunis Abu-Arkov, 29, a Tanzim
operative from Dura, is under suspicion of heading a military
cell that committed a number of bombing attacks against Israeli
vehicles in the Hebron area. In the period before his arrest,
Samir was involved in planning shooting attacks against Israelis
in the Hebron area.
-
14 October: Riyad Muhammad Nazal, military operative
of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Qabatiya was involved
in the preparation of bombs and explosive belts. Before his
arrest, he was planning an attack inside Israel. In the course
of the action, two of his aides were killed. One of them, Vasim
Sabaneh, was involved in carrying out the suicide bombing at
Umm el-Fahm junction on 18 September, in which a policeman was
killed and two civilians injured. Followng Nazal's arrest, a
laboratory was discovered in his house in Qabatiya that contained
explosives and raw materials for preparing bombs. The bombs
were detonated under controlled conditions.
-
17 October: Shadi Faras Mahsan Vashi, Hamas
operative, resident of Shehade near Qabatiya. Under questioning,
he admitted to participating in a shooting attack on a car traveling
on the Jordan Valley road near Bardella village, hours before
his arrest. He also admitted to participating in a number of
attempts to carry out suicide attacks. Shadi was captured in
possession of a Kalachnikov rifle, magazines, a hand grenade
and an explosives vest.
-
18 October: Mahar Oni Hassan Abed el-Kas, former
military intelligence operative and currently a Hamas operative,
was in charge of the explosives engineer who was smuggled from
Gaza to Ramallah and"matched" him up with a suicide
bomber who was sent, wearing an explosive belt, into Israel
to commit a suicide attack in a bus in Kfar Saba.
-
Attacks Foiled by the Alertness of the Israeli
Public
11 October: A suicide attacker was captured on the Tel Aviv
promenade, wearing an explosives belt, after he attempted to
enter a
coffee house near the American Embassy, with the intention of
committing a mass attack.
Attacks Prevented by the Security Forces
-
4, 8-9 October: Attack planned by the Palestinian
Islamic Jihad against an Israeli community was foiled as a result
of IDF activity in the Nablus area. The attacker was later arrested
in his home.
-
9 October: A bomb of an unknown type, containing
100 kg. of explosives and placed inside a solar heater, was
discovered close to an IDF outpost.
-
13 October: An IDF force shot and killed two
armed operatives of Fatah Abu Rish who infiltrated from the
Gaza Strip to Egypt and from there attempted to enter Israeli
territory. The incident occurred about 10 km. southeast of Rafah
crossing. Two Kalachnikov rifles, magazines, and barbed wire
were found near the bodies.
-
17 October: As a result of security forces activity
in the Rafah-Khan Yunis area, several attempts to infiltrate
the settlement of Morag were foiled.
Summary, and categorization of attacks:
-
28 terrorists were arrested.
-
22 attacks were prevented by the arrest of terrorists
and those who sent them:
-
Five attacks were foiled by security forces:
-
Fatah - 2
-
Islamic Jihad - 1
-
Unaffiliated - 2
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