Posted on 02/16/2003 9:07:06 AM PST by Cinnamon Girl
A mysterious explosion went off Sunday at the home of a Hamas activist south of Gaza City, killing at least five Palestinian members of the militant organization, and wounding three, witnesses and hospital officials said.
Witnesses said a car laden with explosives blew up inside a farm in the al-Zeitun neighbourhood, known as a Hamas stronghold, just one day after a Hamas landmine gutted an Israeli tank and killed its four crewmen in north Gaza.
Hamas officials blamed the car explosion on Israel, saying they believed it was set off by remote control from a pilotless drone flying in the area. The army had no immediate comment.
The boot of the vehicle had been ripped apart and blood covered the ground near a group of farm sheds surrounded by cinderblock walls. Three other people were wounded in the blast.
"We will retaliate for their new crime, for their new terror action...It will be a very expensive price," Hamas official Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi told reporters.
Among the dead from the blast was senior Hamas activist Nidal Farkhat. Farkhat's brother, Muhammed, carried out the terror attack at the Atzmona settlement about one year ago, in which five students were killed.
In the past, there have been a number of incidents in which Palestinian militants preparing bombs caused them to blow up prematurely.
One Palestinian killed, four wounded, as IDF arrests senior activist in Nablus
A 20-year old Palestinian man was killed and four others were wounded, one critically, in an exchange of fire with IDF troops Sunday afternoon in the West Bank city of Nablus.
An IDF officer suffered light injuries to his leg.
The heavy gunfire took place as troops surrounded a multi-storey building in central Nablus, and arrested senior Democratic Front activist Taisir Khaled and three other Palestinians.
Army sources said the Palestinian killed and the others who were wounded were armed and opened fire on troops.
Earlier in the day, the IDF's 890 Paratroop Brigade arrested Salah Al-Aryah, a wanted Tanzim terror suspect early Sunday morning in the West Bank town of Tul Karm, Army Radio reported.
Al-Aryah, one of the leading arms dealers in the territories, is believed to be responsible for a series of terror attacks, as well as the theft of Mag submachine guns from an IDF base some four months ago.
IDF sources said Sunday that they hope the arrest will aid them in their attempts to track down the stolen weapons.
Soldiers from the same brigade also arrested a top Islamic Jihad leader in Tul Karm, Mohammed Kaleibi. The IDF arrested three wanted Tanzim suspects on Saturday night, while in Beitunia, a Hamas activist was also arrested.
Earlier Saturday, IDF sappers safely detonated three explosive devices discovered north of Nablus, containing a total of 40 kilograms of explosives.
Funerals to be held for four troops killed in Gaza tank blast
Funerals will be held Sunday for the four Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed Saturday morning when their tank drove over an explosive device in the Gaza Strip.
The four casualties were named as Private (First Class) Noam Bahagon, 20, from Elkana; Sgt. Alexei Bilitzky, 21, from Rishon Letzion; Staff Sgt. Doron Cohen, 21, also from Rishon Letzion; and Sgt. Itai Mirzahi, 20, from Be'er Sheva.
The IDF responded to the attack by sending bulldozers to raze several Palestinian homes, claiming that they had been used as cover by those responsible for Saturday's explosion.
An army investigation into the incident found that the tank probably deviated from its path behind an army tractor, which was to detonate any explosve devices, Israel Radio reported.
With security forces still on high terror alert, the IDF decided Saturday that the full curfew on the territories will remain in force until further notice. The curfew, which also includes a naval curfew, was imposed five days ago by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, and has been extended twice.
Word of the casualties from the 8:30 A.M. (0630 GMT) attack on the patrolling tank, which burst into flames after several explosions, was held back for hours until families of the soldiers could be notified.
Iz a Din al-Kassam, the military of wing of the Hamas organization, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it planted the explosives that hit the tank to avenge the deaths of two Hamas activists killed near Beit Lahia in a clash with IDF troops earlier this week.
"The Iz a Din al-Kassam Brigades take responsibility for the 25-kg (55-pound) bomb that exploded under a Zionist tank this morning near Dugit. We confirm that our resistance and jihad (holy struggle) will continue," the Hamas statement said.
IDF: We know who in Hamas is behind the incident At a press conference Saturday evening to discuss the incident, GOC Central Command, Major General Doron Almog said the tank was traveling south in the area when "it ran over an explosive device weighing about 100 kilograms." He said that the blast caused the ammunition inside the tank to explode.
"We know that Hamas is behind the incident. We know that Hamas planted the bomb in the area, and we also know who from Hamas is involved in this operation," he said.
"We intend to continue our defensive and attack operations in the Gaza Strip in a targeted manner against those behind this and other incidents in order to protect residents of the southern Gaza Strip and the entire country," Almog added.
Palestinian witnesses said the tank burst into flames after several explosions in the area, near the settlement of Dugit at the northern end of the desert strip that skirts the Mediterranean Sea. The witnesses said they saw dark smoke rising from the tank.
Soldiers with water hoses tried to douse the flames, as Israeli helicopters hovered above to help with the rescue efforts, the witnesses said.
"The tank went over a large bomb in the northern Gaza Strip," a security source said without elaborating.
The attack was the fourth fatal instance of a tank driving over an explosive device in the Strip in the last year. On February 14, 2002 three soldiers were killed and two others were wounded when their Merkava tank drove over an explosive device on the Karni-Netzarim road. One month later, three soldiers in a Merkava tank were killed in a similar incident in the same area. In September, a tank driver was killed and the other members of the crew were wounded by an explosive device in the Kissufim area.
Unlike the previous incidents, Saturday's attack involved a Magach 7-Kfir tank, and not the Merkava, which is considered Israel's most heavily armored tank.
In December, Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at a Palestinian Authority compound in Gaza, killing a master militant bombmaker responsible for blowing up the three Merkavas.
Reuters/AP take on the whole story.
Hamas: Message to self, time to change that Felafel recipe.
PS. I love their response: 'It is Israel's fault'. It is Israel's fault that the BOMB THAT THEY WERE BUILDING detonated prematurely by the Israelis, as though Hamas bears no responsibility for possessing the explosives or for making the bomb. These people are delusional.
Just so you know, not everyone has their head up their butt.
Achmed ...wuz that supposed to be the green wire or the red wire? How about you Muhammad?
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:)
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