Posted on 10/27/2005 4:08:04 PM PDT by Alouette
Israel resumed its policy of targeted interceptions Thursday, striking a top Islamic Jihad field commander in Gaza's Jabalya refugee camp and killing at least six other Palestinians.
Military sources confirmed that an aircraft fired a rocket into a vehicle in Gaza, saying that the target was Shadi Mehana, the senior Islamic Jihad commander in the northern Gaza Strip. The army said he was behind the renewal of Kassam rocket attacks since Israel pulled out of Gaza in August.
The Associated Press reported that at least six other Palestinians were killed in the strike on the white Subaru, including Mehana's deputy Mohammed Ghazaineh. The others were believed to be bystanders.
Israel Radio said that of the seven killed, two were children. In addition, 14 people were wounded in the attack, including five children.
The Islamic Jihad vowed to deliver a harsh response to the killings.
The targeted interception came as Israel launched a broad offensive against the Palestinian terror organization following Wednesday's suicide bombing in Hadera that killed five Israelis and injured over 20.
It also culminated a day of intensive air force action in Gaza. Israeli aircraft carried out at least four strikes earlier Thursday, the same day Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant took over as head of the Southern Command. These air strikes were all directed at open fields in the northern Gaza Strip from which Palestinians launched Kassam rockets at Israeli targets.
The targeted assassination drove home a decision made following the suicide bombing to significantly quash the Islamic Jihad terrorist infrastructure. The relatively tiny Islamic fundamentalist organization has never agreed to join any ceasefire in attacks against Israel.
The evening strike was part of a broad military offensive against the Islamic Jihad that began early Thursday in the northern West Bank when a large force swept into Jenin and captured a senior terrorist leader.
"Yesterday we witnessed a serious terror attack," Sharon said Thursday morning at the start of a meeting with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "Unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority isn't taking a single serious step to fight terror. We are unwilling to tolerate, under any circumstances, the continuation of terror. Therefore, our operational activity will be broad and non-stop until we bring about the end of the terror."
Earlier Thursday, a relatively large IDF force moved into Jenin. After a brief standoff, a local Islamic Jihad leader Abdel Khalim Izzadin surrendered to troops along with five other wanted men Thursday afternoon.
Some 35 armored jeeps, backed by Apache helicopters and armored personnel carriers filled with infantry troops, had moved into Jenin just before 3 p.m. Thursday. The troops surrounded the home of Izzadin, and shots were heard as soldiers took up positions.
The army confirmed that it had completed an operation in Jenin, and said the troops were withdrawing from the northern West Bank city. According to the IDF, the action was a successful arrest operation aimed at apprehending Izzadin and five others wanted for questioning by security forces.
The military actions coincided with a major clamp down on Palestinian movement in Samaria, as well as a total ban on Palestinians entering Israel in immediate efforts to prevent more suicide bombings. Private Arab vehicles were barred from traveling in the northern West Bank and roadblocks were being erected across the territory.
The Erez and Karni Crossings, which were opened only Wednesday morning, were shut again until further notice.
The IDF acted in accordance with a series of measures, unlimited in time and scope, approved by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz late Wednesday to deliver a lethal blow to the Islamic Jihad. For the moment, the thrust of the Israeli offensive is being focused on this organization, whose leadership is based in Damascus.
Also on Thursday, the father of the suicide bomber, Hassan Abu Zeid, was arrested in his village of Kabatiya. Security forces are trying to understand how he managed to slip into Israel.
Over a dozen fugitives were arrested across the West Bank early Thursday with more arrested expected in the coming days.
Also Thursday, Palestinians hurled rocks at an Israeli vehicle traveling along a road near the village of Silwad, north of Ramallah, lightly wounding a civilian and causing damage to her vehicle. The woman was taken to a hospital to receive medical treatment, the army said.
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
Get some!!!!
Man I live for these stories. I guess as an American I am forced to watch as we endlessly take abuse from these Pirates. Glad someone has the will to take them on.
Why do they worship scrap metal?
Only 6,it must have been a bad rocket.
Why do they worship scrap metal?
Not enough Iron in their diet, or enough lead for that matter.
Why not drop a couple dozen cluster bombs on the next Hamas parade and eliminate half of your enemy?
Islamic Jihad: 0
* ping *
.....Why do they worship scrap metal?......
The pile of scrap would be an excellant place for another rocket.
There is only one answer that works and the Jews had better start working on it.
Transfer of population is the only answer. Slow death is still death. The status quo is unacceptable. Period.
Keep sending 'em to hell!
MAZELTOV!!! Yum jihad sushi.
Thanks - been a long time since I had a good car swarm fix. Now all I need is to see the Giblets Dance, and I'll be a happy man.
Well, Islamic Jihad chose to break their "cease fire" so its open season.
I agree. The remote West Bank settlements should be evacuated and the seperation wall should be finished ASAP.
Coming right up....your giblets are served!
Now I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
They're building greenhouses. It's an economic development thing. We're sending money for it. Someone broke the old greenhouses. It's a good cause.
What I don't get is the blood thing. It might scare off rabbits, but you have to have a garden first. Immersing themselves in the gore of the dead is a bizarre custom.
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