Released for publication this morning: Diners in the Caffit Cafe in Jerusalem last Sunday night were saved from a suicide attack only because the terrorist turned back at literally the last minute.
Details of the almost-attack, as reported by Arutz-7's Kobi Finkler based on information provided by the intelligence services, are as follows: Two clans in Hevron and Abu Dis (just outside Jerusalem) began preparing the attack a month ago, with the former seeking a suicide terrorist, and the latter looking for holes and openings in the anti-terror wall through which to smuggle him. Finally, last Sunday, it all came together: Hevron Hamas terrorist Malik Nasser A-Din was transported to Abu Dis, while the explosives intended for his use were smuggled there in a carton of cookies. He was armed with a handgun and fitted with the '"traditional" suicide bomb vest.
It was widely noted that the presence of the gun marks a new strategy in the suicide bombings. A-Din was to use it to shoot the security guard at very close range, thus neutralizing that "threat," and then run inside the busy cafe and detonate himself.
From Abu Dis, the terrorist was taken to the Wadi Joz neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem, where he was then provided with a Jerusalem Arab driver - whose Israeli identity card facilitate his mobility in the city. The driver brought the human bomb to Emek Refaim St. in the western Jerusalem neighborhood known as the Germany Colony, and pointed out the exact cafe in which his passenger was to detonate himself. The driver then dropped him off somewhat further down the street. In the ensuing seconds, however, the terrorist saw that security was very high and that many policemen were out in force. The security services were in possession of only a general warning, without knowledge of an attack scheduled for that specific area. In any event, the terrorist was deterred, and left the area without being detected.
On Tuesday night, security forces apprehended A-Din's three accomplices in Abu Dis, and learned the details of what had almost occurred. They placed a high alert on the Emek Refaim area again on Wednesday, and on Thursday found A-Din hiding out in a house in Hevron. They surrounded the building, and in the gun battle that ensued, the soldiers shot him dead. Only then was the alert removed from the Emek Refaim area. In toto, eight terrorists and accomplices were arrested.
This is not the first time the Caffit Cafe has been targeted by terrorists - and saved. In March 2002, another Palestinian terrorist pressed the detonator switch as he walked into the cafe, which held some 50 patrons at the time - but the bomb did not go off. He tried once again to detonate himself, but the security guard then overpowered him. The terrorist is now serving a 22-year sentence in an Israeli prison.
On Sept. 9 of last year, a Palestinian terrorist blew up in Hillel Cafe on the same Emek Refaim St., murdering seven people, including Dr. David Appelbaum and his daughter Nava, 20, who was to be married the next night. A month later, 20 people were killed - including five members of each of two different families - in a suicide attack in Maxim Restaurant in Haifa.
Details of the almost-attack, as reported by Arutz-7's Kobi Finkler based on information provided by the intelligence services, are as follows: Two clans in Hevron and Abu Dis (just outside Jerusalem) began preparing the attack a month ago, with the former seeking a suicide terrorist, and the latter looking for holes and openings in the anti-terror wall through which to smuggle him. Finally, last Sunday, it all came together: Hevron Hamas terrorist Malik Nasser A-Din was transported to Abu Dis, while the explosives intended for his use were smuggled there in a carton of cookies. He was armed with a handgun and fitted with the '"traditional" suicide bomb vest.
It was widely noted that the presence of the gun marks a new strategy in the suicide bombings. A-Din was to use it to shoot the security guard at very close range, thus neutralizing that "threat," and then run inside the busy cafe and detonate himself.
From Abu Dis, the terrorist was taken to the Wadi Joz neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem, where he was then provided with a Jerusalem Arab driver - whose Israeli identity card facilitate his mobility in the city. The driver brought the human bomb to Emek Refaim St. in the western Jerusalem neighborhood known as the Germany Colony, and pointed out the exact cafe in which his passenger was to detonate himself. The driver then dropped him off somewhat further down the street. In the ensuing seconds, however, the terrorist saw that security was very high and that many policemen were out in force. The security services were in possession of only a general warning, without knowledge of an attack scheduled for that specific area. In any event, the terrorist was deterred, and left the area without being detected.
On Tuesday night, security forces apprehended A-Din's three accomplices in Abu Dis, and learned the details of what had almost occurred. They placed a high alert on the Emek Refaim area again on Wednesday, and on Thursday found A-Din hiding out in a house in Hevron. They surrounded the building, and in the gun battle that ensued, the soldiers shot him dead. Only then was the alert removed from the Emek Refaim area. In toto, eight terrorists and accomplices were arrested.
This is not the first time the Caffit Cafe has been targeted by terrorists - and saved. In March 2002, another Palestinian terrorist pressed the detonator switch as he walked into the cafe, which held some 50 patrons at the time - but the bomb did not go off. He tried once again to detonate himself, but the security guard then overpowered him. The terrorist is now serving a 22-year sentence in an Israeli prison.
On Sept. 9 of last year, a Palestinian terrorist blew up in Hillel Cafe on the same Emek Refaim St., murdering seven people, including Dr. David Appelbaum and his daughter Nava, 20, who was to be married the next night. A month later, 20 people were killed - including five members of each of two different families - in a suicide attack in Maxim Restaurant in Haifa.