Source: IDF & Security Services
During a joint IDF and ISA operation in Ramallah today, May 28th 2007, IDF forces arrested Haled Jamal Mussah Shawish, the head of the Fatah/PLO Tanzim terrorinfrastructure in the city. Shawish was hiding in PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' compound and was armed with a handgun at the time of his arrest.
Shawish was actively involved in recent years in several terror attacks.
Among his activities, Shawish trained other Tanzim operatives in bomb-making and explosive belt construction, executed bomb attacks and directed a number of suicide bombings. He also took part in the planning of a number of abductions.
In late 2001 Shawish was crippled by injuries sustained in a gunfight with IDF soldiers. However, this did not hinder his continued efforts to direct murderous attacks against Israeli civilians.
Shawish took part in the following attacks:
· November 2000 - A shooting attack at an Israeli vehicle traveling along the trans-Samaria route in which a number of civilians were injured.
· December 21st 2000 - A shooting attack at an Israeli vehicle on Highway 443 in which a civilian was murdered.
· December 31st 2000 - A shooting attack at an Israeli vehicle near the community of Ofra. Two parents were murdered and their five children injured.
· December 2000 - A shooting attack at an Israeli vehicle in which a civilian was injured.
· April 30th 2001 - A shooting attack against an Israeli vehicle in the Ramallah area in which an Israeli civilian was murdered.
· September 15th 2001 - Using a weapon delivered by Shawish, terrorists executed a shooting attack in the Jerusalem neighborhood of the French Hill, in which an Israeli civilian was murdered.
· February 27th 2002 - A female suicide bomber dispatched by Shawish, carried out a bombing at a checkpoint in which two Policemen were injured.
· March 21st 2002 - A suicide bombing in King George St. in Jerusalem, in which 3 Israelis were murdered and 35 others injured.
In recent years and up until his arrest, Shawish held a dominant position in
the Tanzim's terrorist infrastructure and was a member of the organization's
decision-making committee.
Shawish took advantage of his connections with Palestinian Authority
officials in order to hide in Ramallah's Mukataa compound for several years.
Recently he was involved in shooting attacks in the region.
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Summary of Overnight Events in Gaza
Source: IDF and Security Services
Since May 15th 2007, Atab terrorists have launched close to 250 rockets into Israel.
Since yesterday 13 Qassam rockets were launched, one of them hit and killed a civilian while he was driving his vehicle in Sderot. Another Qassam hit a house in Sderot, lightly injuring a civilian.
Since yesterday evening the IDF attacked three terrorist targets used by
Hamas in the Gaza Strip::
· A post near Dier Al-Balah, in the southern Gaza Strip
· A post in Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip
· A post in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip
Overnight, IDF forces arrested eight terrorist fugitives during operations in the
Judea-Samaria area.
The IDF will continue to defend the citizens of Israel, while doing the utmost to preserve the daily life of the Palestinian population.
