IDF hunts Hamas cell planning suicide bombing inside Israel - Haaretz

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Thu., September 20, 2007 ,

Israel Time: 03:20 (EST+7)

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IDF hunts Hamas cell planning suicide bombing inside Israel

By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff

Israeli forces are hunting a Hamas cell based in the Nablus area, as they suspect Hamas of planning to dispatch a suicide bomber on a mission inside Israel.

Staff Sergeant Ben-Zion Henman, whose unit was participating in the hunt, was shot and killed yesterday in clashes with Palestinian gunmen in Nablus.

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Also yesterday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that the security forces' operations in the West Bank will continue, because they contribute to preventing attacks against Israelis. He also said that the decision to remove roadblocks and ease travel restrictions on the Palestinian population will depend greatly on security considerations.

The gun battle occurred in the Ein Beit Ilma refugee camp in Nablus soon after 8 A.M. A force from the Paratrooper Brigade had entered the camp in search of a militant cell commanded by Hamas, though some of its members are from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Islamic Jihad.

The patrol, comprising soldiers from the Paratrooper Brigade's reconnaissance unit, surrounded a home in which they suspected some of the militants were barricaded. As they took up their positions, a salvo was fired, mortally injuring Henman, 22, from Moshav Nov in the Golan Heights.

Henman was hit in the side, on a part of his body that was not protected by his ceramic vest. He was evacuated under fire to a helicopter landing pad in the Shavei Shomron settlement, west of Nablus. Medics treated him on the spot, but could not save him.

In returning fire, the patrol killed 17-year-old Mohammed Khaled, a member of the Abu Ali Mustafa Battalions - the military wing of the PFLP. According to IDF officers at the scene, Khaled was responsible for killing Henman.

The gun fight also killed one of the dogs in the Israel Defense Forces' dog squad.

In another gun battle in the camp, a soldier from the Haruv battalion was injured.

Altogether, the army said, there were 10 shooting incidents in the camp yesterday. In addition, bombs were detonated against the force. Large quantities of weapons and ammunition were found and four militants were arrested.

However, many of the more senior militants were not found, and IDF sources said that these militants are still planning to carry out a suicide bombing.

The army has carried out several operations in the camp in recent days, in an attempt to track down the cell's leaders. Brigadier General Noam Tivon, commander of the IDF forces in the West Bank, said that the troops were sent to the camp on the basis of specific intelligence information.

"We arrested some members of the group," Tivon added. "The operation continues. It has included some close-quarters fighting, in which a soldier was killed."

There is considerable opposition within the IDF to easing movement restrictions on residents of Nablus, as officers claim that terrorist groups in the city continue to be intent on sending suicide bombers into Israel.

According to Palestinian sources, some Fatah militants are also still refusing to lay down their arms, and most of them are in the Ein Beit Ilma refugee camp or in Nablus itself. These militants have joined with members of other groups in an effort to unravel the amnesty deal that Israel offered to Fatah gunmen in return for putting down their arms.

Moreover, several of those who did sign up for the amnesty deal continue to hold on to their arms, contravening the agreement, the sources said.

Barak also supports exercising great caution in removing roadblocks and easing movement restrictions on Palestinians. He discussed this issue yesterday during a visit to Central Command headquarters, accompanied by Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.

Barak's plan is to remove 10 to 20 dirt and cement obstacles positioned on roads that connect villages with highways. For now, he has no intention of removing major, permanent checkpoints at main intersections.

Barak stressed that roadblocks will be removed only "in line with security considerations." He added that he supports easing restrictions on Palestinian civilians, but in weighing the desire to improve Palestinians' daily lives against security considerations, the latter will always win.

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