Security forces arrest two Jihad activists (would-be suicide bombers)

Ha'aretz ^ | 7 February 2003 | Roni Singer and Jalal Bana

[anotherview]

Security forces arrest two Jihad activists By Roni Singer and Jalal Bana, Ha'aretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Service

Two Islamic Jihad activists on the way to carrying out a suicide bombing were caught Thursday evening near the West Bank city of Nablus. The two were apprehended after IDF soldiers stopped a Palestinian cab with five passengers. The soldiers found an explosive belt in the possession of the men.

The region was placed on high alert earlier in the day following intelligence warnings of a possible terrorist infiltration. However, following the capture of the terrorists, the alert was lowered.

Earlier in the evening IDF troops killed a Hamas activist east of the city of Taibeh, on the Green Line. It is still not clear if the two incidents are connected. Police also closed off the road between the Haroeh and Hefer junction in the West Bank after a suspicious figure was seen in the area.

A unit of reserve soldiers noticed the man, who arose their suspicions. The man didn’t respond to their request to halt, and was subsequently shot. It is still unclear if he is terrorist or an innocent bystander

Border Police officers were scouting the area and had set up roadblocks at the entrance to towns in the area. The search effort was focusing on the area around the village of Taibeh, and there were long traffic jams in the Sharon region as a result of the roadblocks.

Earlier in the afternoon, Border Policemen shot dead a man who stabbed an officer on the Wadi Ara Road, near the Israeli Arab village of Umm al Fahm.

Border Police officers patrolling the region had considered the man to be suspicious-looking and asked him to stop for questioning. The man, an Umm al-Fahm resident, approached the officers and stabbed one of them in the torso, lightly wounding him. Other officers then shot him dead.

Police checked to see if the man was carrying explosive material, but did not find any. Some of his neighbors reported that he was mentally unstable.

Police commissioner Shlomo Aharonisky said that the assailant had also attempted to grab one of the officer's weapons, and that the police reacted appropriately to the apparent threat.

[yonif]

Good Work IDF!

[RoughDobermann]

Security forces arrest two Jihad activists

I hope they enjoy their interrogation...

[Sender]

They won't get any dessert before bedtime. No sir. They're in the time out chair.

[Enemy Of The State]

[Lion's Cub]

I imagine things are going to be heating up quite a bit in the next few weeks. They'll try to wear down the troops before the war starts--and their adrenaline's running high at the moment because they believe they will win. If the IDF can just keep up with them between now and then, the utter defeat of Hussein should take some of the wind out of their sails for a while.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

It'll be interesting to see if Arafat opens his mouth at all in the next few days and weeks.