Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC)
March 3, 2008
 
 
Israeli security forces operating in Nablus detained four terrorist operatives involved in planning a terrorist attack as revenge against Israel. They were held in the custody of the security services of the Palestinian Authority, but were allowed to move freely in Nablus and make preparations for the planned terrorist attack. 1
 

Overview

1. On February 27, Israeli security forces detained four wanted terrorist operatives in Nablus . Three of them belonged to Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and one belonged to Hamas. Another wanted operative was killed during the arrest. The terrorist operatives were involved in planning a terrorist attack to avenge the death of Ahmed Muhammad Ibrahim Sanakra, the commander of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Nablus (killed by the IDF in January 2008). The wanted operatives were held in the custody of the Palestinian security services, but were allowed to move freely in the city and make preparations for the planned terrorist attack, as can be seen in the following video.

Click here to watch the video (IDFSpokesman, February 27)

2. The detainment of the wanted operatives by the Israeli security forces is yet another testimony that terrorist activity in Nablus continues and that the Amnesty Plan, which was coordinated between Israel and the Palestinian security services, is not being effectively enforced by the Palestinian Authority. This allows wanted Fatah operatives to continue planning terrorist attacks against Israel while being “detained” by the security services. It is another proof that the Palestinian Authority does not fulfill its security obligations (as outlined in the first phase of the roadmap), creating a false façade of action.

Details on the four detained and one killed terrorist operatives

3. Following are details on the four detained terrorist operatives:

a. Wa'el Zaki Issa Massimi: senior Fatah Tanzim operative, born in 1977, from the Balata refugee camp. The detained operative was involved in manufacturing explosives for making explosive charges to be used in terrorist attacks against IDF forces in the Nablus region. He was also involved in numerous shooting attacks and was known for setting explosive charges. He took part in planning the terrorist attack designed to avenge the death of Ahmed Sanakra, and was assisted by Majdi Subhi Qassem Mabrouk, a senior PFLP operative, detained by the Israeli security forces on February 23, 2008.

b. Yasser Isma'il Abd al-Ghani Salaam: senior Fatah Tanzim operative, born in 1988. The detained operative was recently involved in shooting attacks and in setting explosive charges in the Nablus region. Prior to his detainment, he worked with his colleagues on planning the vengeance terrorist attacks.

c. Ali Sa'id Tawfiq Musa'ed: Fatah Tanzim operative, born in 1987, included in the Amnesty Plan. The detained operative was involved in planning and perpetrating shooting attacks and in setting explosive charges.

D . Ibrahim Umar Abd al-Hamid Jibril: Hamas operative, born in 1987, from the Balata refugee camp. The detained operative was involved in shooting on IDF forces in 2006.

4. Killed during the activity of the security forces was Ibrahim Zaki Issa Massimi, senior Fatah Tanzim operative from the Balata refugee camp, working on orders received from Fatah operatives in the Gaza Strip. The operative, who was armed at the time he was killed, was involved in recruiting terrorists for the perpetration of suicide bombing attacks, planning shooting attacks, and setting explosive charges. He was also involved in shooting attacks against IDF forces in the Nablus region and in a roadside bombing against an IDF jeep (September 2, 2007), in which two soldiers were lightly injured.

Violations of the Amnesty Plan by the Palestinian security services and Fatah operatives

5. The Fatah operatives detained on February 27 by the Israeli security forces were supposed to be held in the custody of the Palestinian security services. In practice, however, those services allowed the operatives to move freely in Nablus , while preparing a terrorist attack as vengeance against Israel . The operatives, some of whom were held in Juneid Prison in Nablus until January 2008 before escaping, were allowed to stay at an apartment belonging to the Palestinian security services and leave as they please.

6. This is not the first phenomenon of its kind. Since early November 2007, the Palestinian security services detained several senior terrorist operatives belonging to Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades for their current involvement in terrorism. The Palestinian security services allowed the terrorist operatives to leave the prison during the day and move freely about Nablus and its surroundings, carry on planning and perpetrating terrorist activities, and return to the prison at night. Their arrest by the Palestinian security services therefore did not keep them from taking part in terrorist activity. Quite on the contrary, it served to protect them from being arrested by the Israeli security forces.

7. Another example of the Palestinian security services' incompetence in dealing with terrorist operatives could be found on February 21, when fourteen Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades operatives, who were part of the Amnesty Plan, escaped from Juneid Prison, located in west Nablus, with the assistance of the wardens. 2The operatives claimed they escaped from prison in protest of the poor conditions there. After some three hours spent outside the prison walls, the wanted operatives returned and the governor of Nablus announced that the crisis was over (Ma'an News Agency, February 24). It should be noted that the wanted operatives held in Juneid Prison are allowed to move about Nablus and its surroundings during the daytime and to return to prison at night.

Reaction of the Palestinian Authority

8. A spokesman for Salam Fayyad's government condemned the killing of the Fatah operative by the Israeli security forces and the detainment of four other operatives. “It seems that Israel didn't like the full compliance of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades members with the lull and amnesty conditions they were given by the Palestinian Authority, so that Israel would stop chasing them and that they could reintegrate into the community…” said the spokesman. He called upon the international community to intervene on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, and expressed his hope that Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades operatives would uphold the conditions of the lull and not fall into “the enemy's trap” (Wafa News Agency, February 27, 2008).

9. Hani al-Ka'bi, commander of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the Balata refugee camp, told Ma'an News Agency (February 27) that the response of the Brigades would be “swift and painful”. He denied Israel 's allegations on planning a terrorist attack and noted that the detained operatives upheld the “lull” and did not leave the Military Intelligence headquarters. He explained that they left the headquarters on February 27 due to the massive IDF presence in its vicinity, which made the operatives feel their lives were in danger.

Appendix

Publications by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center on the Amnesty Plan and the powerlessness of the Palestinian Authority's security services

1. The Amnesty Plan for Fatah operatives on Israel 's wanted list—Interim Summary (November 14, 2007).

2. Has the Palestinian Authority fulfilled its security commitments, and to what extent, in accordance with the road map? (Interim analysis) (January 9, 2008).

3. Recently the second stage of the July 2007 amnesty plan for wanted terrorists ended. The stage concluded successfully, with most of the more than 200 wanted terrorists having kept to its terms. The Palestinian security services' contribution to the plan's success was limited (February 12, 2008).

1 Based on a report by the Israel Security Agency.

2 Those operatives surrendered themselves to the security services of the Palestinian Authority about a month and a half ago, following an operation conducted by the IDF in the Qasba (i.e., old city) of Nablus . As part of the Amnesty Plan (July 2007), Israeli security forces have halted their counter-activities against some 170 Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades operatives in Judea and Samaria, provided they commit to abandon the path of terrorism, surrender their arms, and abide by certain restrictions during a long trial period. The plan was coordinated with the Palestinian security services, which were supposed to assist in its enforcement. Most of the wanted operatives included in the plan abided by its terms, but the Palestinian security services had only a minor impact on its success. .


     Back to Top