Israeli security forces continue uncovering terrorist networks and attack terrorist operatives in Judea and Samaria involved in planning attacks against Israeli targets

IDF soldier during operation against wanted operatives in which Ahmed Sanakra, senior operative, was killed (IDF Spokesman, January 18).		Weapons belonging to the dead terrorist (IDF Spokesman, January 18).

Overview

1. The Israeli security forces and the IDF recently exposed a terrorist operative network and killed a number of senior terrorist operatives in Judea and Samaria . Important among them was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad network uncovered in the Bethlehem region whose operatives planned to plant a bomb on the railroad tracks between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The Palestinian security services, which are working to enforce law and order, do not act effectively to dismantle the terrorist networks, which continue to present a genuine threat to Israel ‘s security.

Explosives laboratory exposed in the Bethlehem region ¹

2. On December 17, 2007, the Israeli security forces and the IDF exposed an explosives laboratory in the village of Nahlin (west of Bethlehem ). It contained chemicals used in the manufacture of explosives and bombs.

3. The laboratory belonged to a squad of four PIJ operatives and was located in the home of one of them, Rizeq Muhammad Ahmed Jada , 28. Two lived in Nahlin and two in the village of Batir (west of Bethlehem ). During interrogation they said that they had downloaded instructions for manufacturing explosives from the Internet . They purchased the materials and tried to enlist financial support.

4. They confessed that they had planned to carry out a series of attacks against civilian and military targets in Israel , among them the following:

1) Plant a bomb on the railroad tracks between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem close to the village of Batir

2) Use bombs to attack Israeli vehicles.

3) Attack a security vehicle in the settlement of Beitar Illit.

4) Attack an IDF jeep with both a bomb and hand grenades.

5. Following the information they provided, an explosive device weighing eight kilograms ( 17.6 lbs ) was found in the home of Aasem Muamar , another terrorist operative, hidden inside a fire extinguisher. In addition, 25 kilograms ( 55 lbs ) of potassium nitrate (used in the manufacture of explosives ²) were also found, as were a cellular detonator and CDs documenting the squad’s attempts to manufacture bombs.

A senior PIJ terrorist operative killed in Qabatia

6. On January 16 the Israeli security forces operating in the town of Qabatia (south of Jenin) killed Walid Obeidi (Abu Al-Qassam), a senior operative of the Jerusalem Battalions, the PIJ’s terrorist wing. Obeidi, 42, a resident of the village of Burqin , was responsible for planning and carrying out attacks against Israel . He was also behind suicide bombing attacks, including that attack in south Tel Aviv on April 17, 2006, which killed 9 people . ³

7. According to a posting on the PIJ Website, he had manufactured a large number of explosive devices "and had the honor of making hundreds of bombs which the Jerusalem Battalions detonated in the Jenin refugee camp over the past three years,” causing the "Israeli enemy” many casualties. He also reportedly opposed turning over his weapons in return for a pardon for himself and other operatives and preferred to remain a "jihad fighter” (Jerusalem Battalions Website, January 16).

8. Sources in the PIJ reacted harshly to his death. Ahmed al-Aarouri, a senior operative in the organization, said that the Palestinians "would settle the score with Israel ” and that the response to his death would be "painful.”

A senior Fatah-Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade operative killed in Nablus

9. Ahmed Sanakra , a senior Fatah-Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade operative, was killed during an Israeli security force operation in Nablus ‘s Balata refugee camp on January 18. Four terrorist operatives who were in his house at the time were detained.

Funeral of Ahmed Sanakra in Nablus
(Palestinian TV, January 18).

10. Ahmed Sanakra was involved in planning and carrying out many terrorist attacks. He specialized in making explosive belts . His brother, Alaa Sanakra , was one of the PIJ’s senior operatives in Judea and Samaria and was pardoned in the "wanted terrorists agreement” between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

11. Reacting to Sanakra’s death, Fatah-Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade spokesmen threatened Israel with harsh reprisals in the heart of the country and said that "the arm of the resistance is free to react to aggression.” They also called upon the Palestinian to follow the path of "resistance” (terrorism and violence).

¹ According to an Israel Security Agency report.

² For more information about smuggling potassium nitrate into Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, see our December 30, 2007 Bulletin entitled "The Israeli security forces seized six and a half tons of potassium nitrate at a West Bank crossing a few weeks ago. The chemical is used in the homemade explosives industry. It was hidden in European Union sugar sacks and sent to terrorists in the Gaza Strip” .

³ For further information see our April 18, 2006 Bulletin entitled "Palestinian Islamic Jihad suicide bombing attack at the old Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv” .