Posted on 06/27/2004 7:38:55 PM PDT by anotherview
IDF scales back Nablus operation
Most IDF forces leave city, curfew lifted, after main objective achieved with killing of top fugitive Nayef Abu-Sharkh.
Uri Glikman and Marwan Athamna
The IDF is withdrawing forces from Nablus as the "Full Court Press" operation is winding down, after top Tanzim fugitive Nayef Abu Sharkh has been killed. The army has also lifted the curfew imposed in the city and according to estimates the operation will end in the coming hours.
A senior security source told NRG Maariv this morning (Sunday): "Since the objective of the operation has been achieved with the killing of Nayef Abu-Sharkh, the most wanted terrorist in the West Bank, IDF forces will leave the city soon".
Yesterday, IDF soldiers killed Abu-Sharkh, a senior Tanzim activist who planned dozens of terrorist attacks against Israelis. The most serious was the attack in Tel Aviv’s Neve Sha’anan neighborhood in which 23 people were killed.
IDF forces have been searching for Abu-Sharkh for months and destroyed his house in May. Yesterday, they finally caught him. In the battle, five other terrorists were also killed.
Once reports of the killing of Abu Sharkh and the five wanted terror suspects surfaced, about 2,000 residents of the Balata refugee camp initiated a demonstration and called to avenge the killings. Activists of various Palestinian terror groups fired shorts in the air and promised "bitter, difficult and painful revenge".
Sources in Nablus say that the killing of the terror operatives constitutes a serious blow to the ability of Palestinian organizations to recover and reorganize. The sources noted that the terrorists who were killed, led by Abu Sharkh, were experienced operatives who would be difficult to replace. A terrorist in one of the Palestinian groups told NRG Maariv: "The blow is indeed a painful and difficult one and constitutes a serious blow as we lost some of our veteran fighters. They knew how to face the challenges presented by the Israeli enemy, to overcome them, and even to hit the enemy".
IDF sources report that the operation has largely destroyed the Tanzim’s terrorist infrastructure in Nablus. With the death of the top-ranking wanted terrorist in the city, the operation is expected to end shortly.
On Saturday. Two paratroopers identified two armed terrorist and engaged them in gun battle. One was killed and the other ran to a cellar were other terrorists were already hiding. Soldiers throw a grenade into the cellar where Abu-Sharkh and the others were killed. Eight soldiers suffered minor injuries from smoke inhalation. Earlier in the day, the IDF also killed Nidel Wahani, the al-Aqsa Brigade commander.
The current IDF operation in Nablus began on Wednesday.
(2004-06-27 11:59:50.0)
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