(Communicated by Israeli security sources)
The seven wanted Palestinians, who were arrested tonight in a joint operation by the IDF and ISA in Jericho, arrived in the city during the past months. Jericho was considered as a shelter for terrorists after intense activities carried out by Israeli security forces in their cities of origin.
Although Palestinian security forces were asked to arrest some of the operatives and prevent them from continuing their terrorist activities, in fact the Palestinian security forces took no steps to arrest them, merely warning them that they were wanted by the Israeli security forces.
The following is information regarding some of the senior wanted operatives arrested:
A-Fatah Mussa Dola - A wanted Tanzin operative, born 1987, resident of Bituniya, involved ub the murder of Ofir Nahum in January 2001, the Israeli youth who was enticed to meet with Amna Muna after an e-mail correspondence.
Darawish Gazi Darawish Dahader - A wanted Tanzim operative, born 1982, resident of Bituniya. Involved in preparing the suicide bomber who carried out the terror attack in King George St. in Jerusalem in March 2002, in which three Israelis were murdered. Dahader was also involved in various shooting attacks.
Mahamed A-Mahsin Zaglul Hassan - A wanted Tanzim operative, born 1972, resident of Dura El- Kara. Recruited Tanzim members for terrorist cells and took part in shootings and bombings throughout 2002. Hassan was also involved in the Tanzim terrorist infrastructure in Ramallah which had planned to transfer explosive belts to suicide bombers in order to carry out a suicide attack in a night club in Tel-Aviv in June 2003.
Iad Hassan Smahan Hater - A wanted Tanzim operative, born 1976, resident of Ein-Kinye, directly involved in various shootings and bombings.
Ziad Mahmes A-Fatah Bazar - A wanted Tanzim operative, born 1976, resident of Ein-Kinye. Bazar was a member of a Tanzim terrorist cell which carried out various shooting attacks, including the shooting attack near Atarot in which an Israeli civilian, Arye Hershkowitz was murdered. Bazar was also responsible for carrying out the shooting attack on road 443 in January 2001, in which an Israeli civilian was critically injured.
Wasem Zidan Matztafa El-Jamal - A wanted Tanzim operative, born 1980, resident of Hebron. El-Jamal was a member of a terrorist cell in Hebron that was involved in various shooting attacks in the area of Hebron and in the sale of weapons.
Luie Manse Idah - A wanted Tanzim operative, born 1979, originally a resident of Ramallah, was involved in the wounding of an Israeli civilian in a shooting attack on March 17, 2002 in the Ramallah area.
Israeli forces also captured the following weapons: Kalashnikov rifles, pistols, 14 hand grenades, an IDF uniform, bullet proof vests and communication devices.