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Middle East
Israel thinks "most wanted" are trapped
2002-04-02
  • Israel believes it has trapped some of the most wanted Palestinian militants in the besieged West Bank offices of Yasser Arafat and his security chief, a senior security official said on Monday. He said the lightning charge by tanks and armoured infantry units into the West Bank town of Ramallah before dawn Friday sent men allegedly behind some of the most bloody attacks on Israel scrambling for cover.

    They sought refuge in Arafat's headquarters and the base of his security aide Colonel Jibril Rajoub on the southern edge of the city, said the official. Holed up with the Palestinian leader - whose former fortified compound has been largely destroyed and rebuilt as a makeshift Israeli army camp - are some of the killers of tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi. Also reportedly at Arafat's side is Fuad Shubaki, the top official accused of financing the Karine A arms ship which Israel said was trying to bring more than 50 tons of weapons through the Red Sea to Gaza.

    Most of those wanted are in Rajoub's headquarters at Beitunia, which is also surrounded by Israeli forces, the security official said. "They are not getting away," he said, refusing to elaborate on how or when Israel would act. He said in Rajoub's compound there were some 250 people, likely well armed and provisioned, including a number of men accused of masterminding relentless attacks on Israel.
    Rajoub's compound and everyone in it should be rubble by now. They'll have to take Yasser's apart piece by piece, which it looks like they're doing. Maybe they mean to "isolate" Yasser by killing at least three layers of thugs around him. That should drive him nuts.

  • Some 200 Palestinians who were holed up in the offices of West Bank Preventive Security Service chief Jibril Rajoub in Beitunya, west of Ramallah, surrendered to IDF troops this afternoon. Authorities estimate another 200 Palestinians are still hiding in Rajoub's office complex.
    Bet the ones who surrendered are small to medium fry. Think "rubble," guys. It'll be better in the long run.

  • According to IDF claims, 200 Palestinian activists holed up in Rajoub's Beitunia headquarters, among them women and children, surrendered to IDF troops, as was agreed by the two sides. The IDF said that a number of the Palestinians have been released and that others had been arrested for further investigation.
    What? They let the human shields go? They weren't supposed to do that...

  • Speaking to Israel Radio, however, Rajoub denied that leading Fatah figure Marwan Bargouti was inside the complex. "It's only a matter of minutes or hours until it becomes clear that Marwan Bargouti is not inside the complex." Rajoub added that, "I did not educate my people to surrender to anybody. That's not our attitude and not our culture. I cannot give any order other than to fight to the last bullet."
    Y'mean Marwan's running around loose, directing the boomer corps? And the kiddies and moms were supposed to stay and do the Fuehrerbunker thing?
    The last cited article ["Bargouti" from Ha'aretz] gave the critical line: "On Monday evening, troops took up positions around the cities in preparation of the move. This is the fourth time over the past few months that the IDF has entered Tul Karm, although it is the first time that reserve soldiers have been used. "
    There is a huge difference between encirclement and raiding. The presence of added reserve infantry and probably artillery [the press couldn't tell the difference between an M60Ax and a M109Ax] shows that the IDF is doing a cordon sanitaire job on the West Bank. The effectiveness of this will obviously dependent on many things, but one of them may well be the PA's misconception that they could base significant military and command elements forward in these cities, and that the IDF would let them skedaddle as usual. If so, some gunnies are going to be disappointed.
    Posted by Tom Roberts 4/2/2002 6:19:51 PM
    • Posted by:Fred Pruitt

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