Following are some details about the terrorists who were arrested or killed
during the aforementioned counter-terrorist operation, based on the IDF
Spokesperson's report:
Yousef (Hamsa) Muhammad Khalil Abu Rob, 40, the head of Islamic Jihad in
Kabatiyah and senior Islamic Jihad terrorist in the Jenin area, was killed
during a confrontation with a Golani Brigade force. The IDF-GSS-initiated
counter-terrorist action continued for several hours, during which Hamsa
fired and threw grenades at the Golani force, wounding four soldiers. Hamsa
was responsible for bombing a factory at kibbutz Shaked, a bombing at Um
el-Fahm Junction, various shooting attacks and he maintained links with
senior Islamic Jihad terrorists in Samaria. Hamsa, an expert in the
preparation and manufacture of explosives, had - in recent days - been
engaged in planning an additional suicide attack inside Israel. Hamsa had
been imprisoned in Israel several times and was last released in 1996.
In Tulkarem, IDF forces killed Jamal Yichye, 31, during clashes in the city.
Yichye was a senior member of the Tanzim and, as such, was responsible for
several terrorist attacks, including the October 29 infiltration of the
northern Samaria community of Chermesh, in which three women were murdered,
and the November 10 attack on kibbutz Metzer, in which five Israelis were
murdered, including two children. Yichye was personally involved in
attempting to dispatch suicide-terrorists into Israel and he had spent the
last few months planning terror attacks against military and civilian
targets in the Tulkarem area and all along the seam line, and had
perpetrated many shooting attacks since the beginning of the current wave of
Palestinian Authority violence.
Also eliminated was Hamas terrorist Bassam Ashkar, who was killed when he
and a fellow Hamas terrorist, Iman Amar Rashid, drew pistols on IDF troops
who had come to arrest them. Rashid was eventually captured and an M-16, two
pistols, magazines and 25,000 Jordanian dinars were confiscated. Rashid, 36,
was responsible for several deadly attacks in the past year, including the
March 9 suicide bombing at Caf? Moment in Jerusalem, in which 11 Israeli
civilians were murdered, the May 7 suicide bombing of the Sheffield Pool
Hall in Rishon Lezion, in which 15 Israelis were murdered, the July 31
Hebrew University bombing, in which four Israelis and five foreign nationals
were murdered, the September 19 suicide bombing of a public bus in Tel Aviv,
in which six Israelis were murdered, as well as an attempted mega-terror
attack at the Pi Glilot fuel depot in Tel Aviv.
In Kalkilya, near Kfar Saba, a joint GSS-IDF operation led to the capture of
Talal Ibrahim Al-Rahman Sharim, 43, and Nasser al-Fatah Abdullah Nazal, 33,
heads of Hamas in the city. The two were discovered hiding behind a
refrigerator in their apartment. The two terrorists were involved in the
March 28, 2001 suicide attack at a gas station at N'vei Yamin Junction, in
which two youths were murdered and four others injured, the June 1, 2001
suicide bombing of teenagers waiting in line at the Dolphinarium nightclub
in Tel Aviv, in which 22 people were murdered and over 100 injured, and the
October 10 suicide attack near Bar Ilan University, in which an elderly
woman was murdered.
during the aforementioned counter-terrorist operation, based on the IDF
Spokesperson's report:
Yousef (Hamsa) Muhammad Khalil Abu Rob, 40, the head of Islamic Jihad in
Kabatiyah and senior Islamic Jihad terrorist in the Jenin area, was killed
during a confrontation with a Golani Brigade force. The IDF-GSS-initiated
counter-terrorist action continued for several hours, during which Hamsa
fired and threw grenades at the Golani force, wounding four soldiers. Hamsa
was responsible for bombing a factory at kibbutz Shaked, a bombing at Um
el-Fahm Junction, various shooting attacks and he maintained links with
senior Islamic Jihad terrorists in Samaria. Hamsa, an expert in the
preparation and manufacture of explosives, had - in recent days - been
engaged in planning an additional suicide attack inside Israel. Hamsa had
been imprisoned in Israel several times and was last released in 1996.
In Tulkarem, IDF forces killed Jamal Yichye, 31, during clashes in the city.
Yichye was a senior member of the Tanzim and, as such, was responsible for
several terrorist attacks, including the October 29 infiltration of the
northern Samaria community of Chermesh, in which three women were murdered,
and the November 10 attack on kibbutz Metzer, in which five Israelis were
murdered, including two children. Yichye was personally involved in
attempting to dispatch suicide-terrorists into Israel and he had spent the
last few months planning terror attacks against military and civilian
targets in the Tulkarem area and all along the seam line, and had
perpetrated many shooting attacks since the beginning of the current wave of
Palestinian Authority violence.
Also eliminated was Hamas terrorist Bassam Ashkar, who was killed when he
and a fellow Hamas terrorist, Iman Amar Rashid, drew pistols on IDF troops
who had come to arrest them. Rashid was eventually captured and an M-16, two
pistols, magazines and 25,000 Jordanian dinars were confiscated. Rashid, 36,
was responsible for several deadly attacks in the past year, including the
March 9 suicide bombing at Caf? Moment in Jerusalem, in which 11 Israeli
civilians were murdered, the May 7 suicide bombing of the Sheffield Pool
Hall in Rishon Lezion, in which 15 Israelis were murdered, the July 31
Hebrew University bombing, in which four Israelis and five foreign nationals
were murdered, the September 19 suicide bombing of a public bus in Tel Aviv,
in which six Israelis were murdered, as well as an attempted mega-terror
attack at the Pi Glilot fuel depot in Tel Aviv.
In Kalkilya, near Kfar Saba, a joint GSS-IDF operation led to the capture of
Talal Ibrahim Al-Rahman Sharim, 43, and Nasser al-Fatah Abdullah Nazal, 33,
heads of Hamas in the city. The two were discovered hiding behind a
refrigerator in their apartment. The two terrorists were involved in the
March 28, 2001 suicide attack at a gas station at N'vei Yamin Junction, in
which two youths were murdered and four others injured, the June 1, 2001
suicide bombing of teenagers waiting in line at the Dolphinarium nightclub
in Tel Aviv, in which 22 people were murdered and over 100 injured, and the
October 10 suicide attack near Bar Ilan University, in which an elderly
woman was murdered.