Three Would-Be Suicide Bombers Arrested

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Good question, Alias, and it is partially why I have been posting these Arutz Sheva links. Violence is up among the PALS.

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IDF OFFICER KILLED BY ARAB SNIPER

At approximately 9:30pm last night, an IDF armored corps company commander, Captain Shachar Shmul, was shot once in the chest by an Arab sniper outside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. Captain Shmul was in the midst of overseeing the controlled explosion of a suspected terrorist vehicle, making sure that the flames did not damage nearby Arab homes, when he was hit. Moments earlier, a suspicious individual, spotted by Shmul's unit, had fled from the vehicle into adjacent alleyways. Despite resuscitation efforts, Captain Shmul was pronounced dead by an emergency physician en route to Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital.

Shachar Shmul was 24 years old, from Jerusalem. Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced, as the family awaits the arrival of Shmul's father and brother from the United States. He is survived by his parents and two brothers, one a pilot and the other a paratrooper.

After receiving the news of her son's death, Esther Shmul said, "He loved his soldiers and took great care of them. He would give up his Shabbat at home and stay with them if they had a problem." One of Captain Shmul's subordinates echoed Esther Shmul, saying, "He was an esteemed officer, who was tirelessly concerned about his soldiers." Shmul's cousin, Michal Weg, said, "The guy was addicted to the army. It's shocking how he was so cruelly killed." Captain Shmul had just signed on for six years at the IDF Military Academy.

A Border Guard unit responding to the Bethlehem shooting came under attack as well, when Arab bomb throwers targeted the approaching force. There were no injuries in that incident. Following the sniper attack, an open-ended curfew was imposed on the city and IDF tanks have taken up positions in Bethlehem for the first time this year. This morning, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization claimed responsibility for last night's sniper attack.

2. COUNTER-TERRORISM SUCCESSES

Israeli security forces, in coordination with the intelligence community, are working overtime to prevent planned terrorist attacks against Jewish targets as the nationwide alert continues. Officials indicated that the closure on Palestinian Authority areas in Judea, Samaria and Gaza will most likely remain in effect at least until this weekend, the end of the Haj period, and after the Moslem holiday of 'Id al-Adha. Today, however, the internal curfews were lifted in most major cities in Judea and Samaria, with the exception of Hevron and Bethlehem. Meanwhile, overnight and this morning, the IDF has seen several successes in its counter-terrorism activities.

Two terrorists armed with an explosive device were shot and killed by IDF forces near the Gush Katif community of Dugit during the night. Also last night in Gush Katif, a terrorist with an explosives vest in his vehicle was apprehended at Orchen Junction. And yet another terrorist, this time already wearing an explosives vest, was apprehended near the Jewish community of Kedumim, in Samaria. In other counter-terrorist activity, IDF troops continued rounding up wanted suspects throughout Judea, Samaria and Gaza: in Bituniya, in the Ramallah district, three Hamas terrorists were taken into custody; three Tanzim terrorists were apprehended in Balata, in the Shechem district; other arrests were made in the Shechem and Jenin districts; and four PA residents suspected of terrorist activities were arrested at Gush Katif Junction. They were turned over to the custody of the GSS (General Security Service - Shin/Bet).

The Arab terrorist forces, however, continue their assault. Last night, two firebombs were thrown at Israelis at the Yakir Junction in Samaria, gunfire was directed at an IDF training base in the northern Jordan Valley, and a mortar shell was fired at an IDF outpost in Gaza. There were no injuries in any of the incidents.

In a related matter, the current Islamic holiday season has resulted in widespread concern and terrorism alerts in the United States and the United Kingdom. Military and law enforcement efforts are underway to prevent a major attack that intelligence officials fear will coincide with the end of the Haj this week. In England, British soldiers have been deployed at Heathrow international airport, and in New York, police have been warned to be on the lookout for "conventional or improvised weapons" that may be used to spread deadly chemical or biological agents.

3. PA THREATS AGAINST AMERICANS

The official radio station of the Palestinian Authority, Voice of Palestine, broadcast a sermon from the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem on February 7, in which the Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Ikrimah Sabri, preached, "While Muslims slaughter sheep on 'Id al-Adha, the United States will slay Muslims in Iraq in order to carry out its aggressive, criminal, terrorist, and inhuman designs...O Allah, deter the aggressors and conspirators. O Allah, destroy them all. O Allah, protect Iraq and its people." (Translation courtesy of

FBIS.)

Also on February 7, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Mudayris delivered a sermon from a central mosque in Gaza, which was carried live on PA radio and television, in which he described America as "the unjust country," and threatened, "O Palestinians, O Muslims, we swear that nobody will enjoy safety in the world unless injustice to the Palestinian people is lifted..." Obliquely praising Osama bin Laden, the cleric said, "After this reckless US president declared his loyalty to the Jews and planned to get rid of our president, our people, and our cause, his country lost both security and safety." America, he said, is "overwhelmed by corruption."

Morton A. Klein, National President of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), noted that President George W. Bush called on the PA to "end incitement to violence in official media." Yet, despite the fact that such incitement continues, the Bush administration continues to "support [the] creation of a Palestinian Arab state and continue giving the Palestinian Arabs $150-million in taxpayers' money each year, when they use those funds to incite against America and Israel...."

Meanwhile, the Hamas terrorist organization has issued its most explicit threat against Americans yet, reports Middle East News Line. According to the report, Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin called on Muslims to attack US nationals and Westerners the moment the regime of President Saddam Hussein is struck. "Muslims should threaten Western interests and strike them everywhere," Yassin wrote in an open letter to the faithful. Pro-Saddam Hussein rallies have been held throughout the Palestinian Authority, under the auspices of Hamas.

http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com

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TERRORISM ATTEMPTS

Israel continues to be on high terrorism alert, despite and as evidenced by

the continuing total closure on Arab areas in Yesha.

A Kassam rocket aimed at the city of Efrat, south of Jerusalem, was not

directed at the residents - but rather at soldiers.  It was originally

assumed that the rocket, discovered this morning in the Arab village of

Beit Fajr pointing towards Efrat, would have been fired at the town had it

not been discovered this morning in time.  Security sources now say,

however, that the rocket was in fact a decoy, designed to draw IDF soldiers

towards a pipe bomb attached to its side.  IDF sappers neutralized the bomb

without incident - but not before Efrat residents were ordered into bomb

shelters or concrete-roofed rooms.

Soldiers in Gaza were targeted in two separate incidents this morning: with

grenades in the Rafiach area of southern Gaza, and with a bomb near

Netzarim; no one was hurt.  Two dead terrorists were later found at the

latter site, and a third terrorist was severely wounded.  An IDF undercover

unit arrested this afternoon the leader of the Democratic Front terrorist

organization in the Ramallah area.

Soldiers operating in Jenin had several successes today.  They found a

10-kilogram explosives device hidden under a mound of rocks, and safely

detonated it; they discovered a small weapons cache with a bomb, eight

rifles and two handguns; and they arrested 15 residents of a nearby

village, on suspicion of having taken part in terrorist activities.

Maj. Shachar Shmul, the company commander who was killed by an Arab sniper

in Bethlehem on Monday night, was buried this afternoon in the Mt. Herzl

Military Cemetery in Jerusalem.  Hundreds of people participated in the

funeral.  Shmul was killed while ensuring that a controlled explosion of a

suspected terrorist vehicle did not endanger nearby Arab homes.

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DETERRENCE IN KALKILYE

Army forces in Kalkilye blew up the home last night of the terrorist who

murdered three yeshiva students in the Shomron community of Itamar last

year.  On May 28, 2002, a lone terrorist entered the yeshiva high school

complex near the basketball court, five minutes after a group of students

had ended their game and gone to their rooms.  He began walking and

shooting through the complex, then entered some of the dormitory caravans

while continuing to fire - yet managed to murder "only" three youths: Avi

Siton, 18, of Shilo; Netanel Reichani, 17, of Kokhav Yaakov; and Gilad

Shtieglitz, 15, of Yakir.  Two students were seriously wounded.  The

yeshiva's guard, a middle-aged new immigrant from the former Soviet Union,

rushed to the scene and shot the terrorist dead.

The IDF's anti-terror actions continue, and early this morning a

Paratroopers Brigade force apprehended two leading terrorists in Tul

Karem.  The two, Mahmoud Klaibi and Fahid Sawalha, Islamic Jihad members in

the Shomron, are responsible for many attacks on both sides of the Green

Line.  Their hiding place - which the army later blew up - was found to

contain a lab for the preparation of human-bomb explosives vests, as well

as an M-16 rifle and a gun.  Five other wanted terrorists were caught near

Shechem, and another one in Hevron.

From Arutz Sheva.

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FIGHTING AGAINST TERRORISM

Israeli forces in Bethlehem arrested three Arab females who planned to

become "human bombs" and thus murder Jews yesterday.  Another terrorist was

also stopped yesterday near Gush Etzion on his way to committing an attack

in Jerusalem.

An IDF force near Hevron arrested Muhammed Nur last night; he murdered the

shepherd Ya'ir Har-Sinai of Susia on July 2, 2001.  Dalia Har-Sinai,

Ya'ir's widow, told Arutz-7's Tamar Yonah today,

"I see great symbolism in the fact that this happened on Purim Katan

[exactly a month before Purim], as this is part of the erasure of

Amalek.  'May all Your enemies be similarly wiped out, O G-d.'  As I said

at the funeral, my true revenge is in the fact that the [agricultural] work

here continues: orchards are being planted, fields are being sown, and the

flock that is the heart of the farm continues its work, that of helping

redeem lands and preserving them.  Unfortunately, some Arabs yesterday won

a court case allowing them to return to lands in the area from which they

were banished after the murder.  This is very painful to me, as it shows

that Jewish blood is cheap, and it only strengthens and supports them in

their murderous ways."

Following the arrests, Defense Minister Mofaz announced that the closure

that was imposed on all the Arab areas of Yesha last week would be

lifted.  The 14,000 PA Arabs with work permits for both sides of the Green

Line were permitted, beginning this morning, to go to work.  Among Mofaz's

considerations, he explained, are the difficult conditions faced by the

Arab civilian population, and the desire to ensure that the Arab workers

not be fired by their Jewish employers. Mofaz also said that Israel would

do all it could to help those PA Arabs who are not involved in terrorism:

"Because the PA is a corrupt body that uses its money to support terror

activities and dark activities that do not help the population, we are

partially involved in helping international and civilian bodies that help

the population.  I don't think there is any other country that would act

the way we do, helping out the civilian population while at the same time

within these towns are the very terrorist cells of Hamas, Islamic Jihad,

and Fatah-Tanzim that carry out attacks against the State of Israel."

A cache of mortar shells from the time of the pre-State British Mandate was

discovered yesterday by an IDF reserve force in Tul Karem.  It is assumed

that terrorists wished to use the bombs against Israel.  IDF sappers safely

neutralized the explosives.