Posted on 09/24/2003 9:44:21 PM PDT by yonif
In a dramatic anti-terror operation, Border Police in an undercover unit disguised as Arabs sneaked into a cafe in Nablus where armed Tanzim fugitives were holding an operational meeting.
Military sources said the Border Police overpowered the fugitives and arrested 12 of them, who turned out to be top Tanzim terrorists and a number of "ticking bombs," a euphemism for a suicide bomber.
Military sources said they had intelligence information that the fugitives were meeting late Monday at the Abu Rabha Cafe" in the Rafidiyeh neighborhood of Nablus. Most of the fugitives were from the Balata refugee camp.
No shots were fired in the arrest even though some of the fugitives were armed with pistols. Other weapons were found on the premises, military sources said.
They added that the fugitives were planning suicide attacks inside Israel and were involved in a search for bombers.
At least five of the fugitives had been involved in suicide bombings and attacks on Israelis in the past, military sources said.
On Tuesday eveing, IDF forces closed in on a house in the village of Kfar Malik in the West Bank Tuesday evening where an armed fugitive was believed to be hiding.
The incident came after a day of arrests in the West Bank and the killing of a potential suicide attacker into a Gaza Strip settlement.
In the northern Gaza Strip, alert soldiers shot dead an armed Palestinian trying to sneak past an IDF outpost near the settlement of Dugit before dawn Tuesday. After opening fire on the man, soldiers discovered he was wearing a camouflage uniform and carrying a Klachnikov assault rifle, five ammunition clips and five hand grenades. He also carried a Koran indicating he was on a suicide mission.
During the night IDF troops arrested six wanted Palestinians in the refugee camp of Balata near Nablus. A seventh Palestinian was apprehended in the Arabeh village, north of Jenin.
Meanwhile in the IDF Megiddo security prison, guards discovered a 1 meter-long tunnel in one of the cells. Guards detected the short tunnel in the shower area during a routine sweep. Digging tools were found inside the hole. The army said it increased its guard following the incident.
Sporadic incidents of gunfire were reported in the Gaza Strip, including shots being fired at the Sufa crossing into Israel. No injuries or damage was reported and troops returned fire, the army said. Later troops discovered a 40-kilogram bomb and trip wire placed nearby. Sappers detonated the bomb, the army said.
Earlier, two other bombs were detected near the settlement of Morag and they too were detonated safely.
Meanwhile, the Coordinator of Activities in the Territories Maj.-Gen. Yusef Mishlav ordered a number of steps be taken to ease the hardships on the Palestinian civilian population. These included allowing up to 20,000 Palestinian workers and merchants to enter the country.
Mishlav's office on Tuesday issued work permits to 10,000 laborers in the Gaza Strip and 1,000 merchants enabling them to work in Israel. Another 5,500 permits were issued to Palestinian laborers and 4,000 merchants in the West Bank. They were mainly from the cities of Bethlehem, Tulkarum, Qalkilya and Jericho.
The army said that it also allowed 2,000 Christians from Bethlehem to enter the country to participate in the Birth of Mary celebrations.
"The IDF will continue working toward easing the humanitarian situation for the Palestinian civilian population, along with the IDF's continuing war against the terrorist organizations and their infrastructure," and army statement said.
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