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| Israeli hitch-hiking post [Image Source] |
We reported here earlier today ["3-Feb-13: Little noticed, unjustly-released terrorists are in charge of the ongoing jihad attacks against Israelis"] about the successful intercept and arrest of a Hamas gang based in Hebron whose members were taken out of the game before their plans for shootings and kidnappings of Israelis could be put into effect. We also noted the central role played by one of the 1,027 unjustly-released murderers who walked free as part of the ill-conceived Shalit Transaction.
Some hours ago today (Sunday), we learned of the arrest of a second gang with similar intentions. Like the Hebron arrestees, these terrorists were tracked down by a combination of security agencies, in this case the Shabak and the Border Police. The Hebron gang were controlled by Hamas. Today's losers owed allegiance to Islamic Jihad.
They are
- Sayeed Manjhid Div Jasor and Tawfek Hadar Joufek Ajbonariyeh, residents of the Palestinian Arab town of Jenin, aged 19 and 18.
- Two Israeli citizens: Yousef Hassin Youssef Warda, 34, from Qalansawe in central Israel; Anas Jabiran, 18, from the central Israeli Arab town of Umm al-Fahm
The two Arab citizens of Israel were indicted today at the Lod Regional Court. Their indictment was the first public indication of the plot. Times of Israel's report quotes a press announcement from the Shabak saying
"The affair illustrates once again the terrorist organizations' intentions to abduct Israelis to use as a betting chip in prisoner release negotiations, with the active involvement of terrorists already in Israeli prisons... Terrorist organizations are continuing to try and use Arab-Israelis to further their cause, taking advantage of the freedom of movement the Israeli ID allows them as well as Arab-Israelis ability to smuggle Judea and Samaria residents in their car..."
Ynet's report says the arrested cell members got their instructions from two Islamic Jihad terrorist operatives, one of whom is currently a prisoner in an Israeli jail. The other remote-controller, aware that the Israeli authorities would now come looking for him, turned himself in to the Palestinian Authority police.
The details of the plot sound like a comedy of errors in the re-telling, but have a deadly serious core to them.
The jihadists spent two full days trying to kidnap either an IDF soldier or a citizen from central Israel hitchhiking posts, but failed to entice anyone suitable into their car. They then changed gears and focused on trying to kidnap New Year’s Eve revelers wending their way home after partying but failed in that too. They then decided to spend the night in their vehicle, parking it close to the IDF checkpoint at the Eyal junction, near the Tel Aviv suburb of Kfar Saba, with the intention of trying once more after daybreak. But for reasons we can only guess at, they attracted suspicion during the night and security forces pounced on their vehicle, finding rope, masking tape, knitted caps, ski masks, box-cutters, and a mock gun. The suspects were then taken into custody. Subsequently, eight more Islamic Jihad terrorists from Jenin were apprehended and are now under arrest in Israel as a result of the interrogations of the first four.
The jihadists spent two full days trying to kidnap either an IDF soldier or a citizen from central Israel hitchhiking posts, but failed to entice anyone suitable into their car. They then changed gears and focused on trying to kidnap New Year’s Eve revelers wending their way home after partying but failed in that too. They then decided to spend the night in their vehicle, parking it close to the IDF checkpoint at the Eyal junction, near the Tel Aviv suburb of Kfar Saba, with the intention of trying once more after daybreak. But for reasons we can only guess at, they attracted suspicion during the night and security forces pounced on their vehicle, finding rope, masking tape, knitted caps, ski masks, box-cutters, and a mock gun. The suspects were then taken into custody. Subsequently, eight more Islamic Jihad terrorists from Jenin were apprehended and are now under arrest in Israel as a result of the interrogations of the first four.
The serious core is that this is yet another instance of co-ordinated efforts, managed by remote control, to replicate the achievement of the Shalit Transaction The terrorists, including Arabs who hold Israeli citizenship papers, learned something empowering in their successful brinkmanship with the government of Israel leading up to the release of the 1,027: if you can capture Jewish hostages, you are on the way to undermining the morale and the determination of the Israeli public, an effect that can be accelerated via the media and the social activist circles and - ultimately - via the political leadership and the people on whom it relies for advice.
They see that the return on investment can be substantial, worth the patience and effort that it calls for. The irony is that what they learned happens to come from the man who wrote the book on how to repulse them. Refer to page 144 of "Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorists", a 1997 best-seller by Binyamin Netanyahu, about which we blogged in October 2011: see "12-Oct-11: "We may come to bitterly regret this transaction for years to come".
They see that the return on investment can be substantial, worth the patience and effort that it calls for. The irony is that what they learned happens to come from the man who wrote the book on how to repulse them. Refer to page 144 of "Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorists", a 1997 best-seller by Binyamin Netanyahu, about which we blogged in October 2011: see "12-Oct-11: "We may come to bitterly regret this transaction for years to come".
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