Background Info: Six Senior Terrorists Arrested In Jericho Operation

2006-03-15

Background Information

Attributed to "security sources" [Distributed by the IDF Spokespersons Office]

Terrorists responsible for the assassination of Minister Rehavam Zeevi arrested during an IDF operation in Jericho on Tuesday

Following the violation of agreements by the Palestinian Authority, in accordance with a decision made by the political echelon, IDF forces operated in Jericho Tuesday, March 14th 2006, to arrest the assassins of Israeli minister Rehavam Zeevi and other senior terrorists.

Following the assassination of Minister Rehavam Zeevi in October 2001, five PFLP terrorists, who were directly involved in his assassination, were arrested during the months of January and Ferbuary 2002, by the Palestinian Authority. The five were taken into custody at the Mukataa in Ramallah and in May 2002 were transferred to a Palestinian Authority jail in Jericho, where they were jailed under American and British supervision, in accordance with an international agreement.

The five terrorists arrested in May 2002 are: the two top commanders of the PFLP, Ahmad Saadat and Ahed Ulmeh, and three PFLP terrorists who were directly involved in the assassination of Zeevi - Majdi Rimawi, Bassel Assamer and Hamdi Quran. Also arrested in 2002 and jailed under the same international agreement was Fuad Shubaki, who was responsible for the smuggling of large amounts of weaponry, including the smuggling operation of a ship loaded with weaponry - the 'Karine A'.

Both Ahmad Saadat and Ahed Ulmeh continued to guide and direct the organization's terror activity from within the jail. The location in which they where jailed served as a center for terror activity. From this location, they both recruited terrorists and directed attacks against Israel.

Ahmad Saadat Yussef Abed-El Rassul served as the general secretary of the PFLP during the assassination of Israeli Minister Rehavam Zeevi.

Saadat, 53, from the neighborhood of El Bira in Ramallah, was arrested six times between the years 1967 and 1993, and from 1994 onwards became actively involved in numerous terror attacks.

In December 1996, Saadat dispatched a PFLP terror cell from Ramallah, which carried out a shooting attack against an Israeli civilian vehicle, murdering an Israeli civilian woman and her son and wounding three children, all members of the same family.

Under his direction, the PFLP also carried out the following attacks:

• Ten Israelis were wounded when terrorists detonated a vehicle loaded with explosives in the Mea Shearim neighborhood in Jerusalem, in Febuary 2001.
• Eight Israelis were wounded when terrorists detonated a vehicle loaded with explosives in a commercial center in Or Yehuda, in April 2001.
• Five Israelis were wounded when terrorists detonated a vehicle loaded with explosives in the center of Jerusalem, in May 2001.
• Terrorists detonated several explosive devices in the Atarot industrial zone, in June 2001.
• Six Israelis were wounded when terrorists detonated two vehicles loaded with explosives in Yehud, in July 2001.
• Terrorists placed several watermelons filled with explosives on a bus that was making its way to the "Malha" shopping mall in Jerusalem, in July 2001.

After he was appointed secretary of the PFLP, Saadat continued to stress his personal commitment and the PFLP's commitment to continue carrying out terror attacks against Israel, in this ignoring all of the agreements made between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. On October 17th 2001, whilst Saadat served as general secretary of the organization, PFLP terrorists assassinated Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi at the Hyatt Hotel in Jerusalem.

In the last elections, held on January 25th 2006, Saadat was elected as a Palestinian parliament member on behalf of the PFLP. Since the elections, Saadat and additional senior wanted terrorists have been engaged in continuous negotiations with Hamas in an effort to join the Hamas led government. The differences between them revolved around the mentality of the Palestinian public, but both organizations agreed upon their stance towards the State of Israel and the necessity of continuing the armed struggle.

Ahed Yussef Mussah Ulmeh, 38, was responsible for planning and directing the assassination of Zeevi. Ulmeh, a resident of Ramallah and a senior PFLP terrorist, was wanted by the Israeli security forces prior to his arrest for his involvement in terror activity, which included recruiting and training terrorists to carry out attacks against Israel.

Since October 2000, Ulmeh served as a senior commander in the organization, and directed terror cells which operated in Ramallah, Nablus, and Jerusalem. Since January 2001, Ulmeh was directly responsible for numerous terror attacks, including the aforementioned terror attacks in Jerusalem and in Yehud.

Ulmeh planned and directed the assassination of Minister Rehavam Zeevi, after which he fled to Nablus. While in Nablus, he was involved in planning the suicide bombing at the Pizza restaurant in the Israeli community of Karnei Shomron, in which two Israeli youths were murdered and 30 were wounded. In addition, Ulmeh was directly involved in a number of terror attacks carried out by the organization, including the murder of two hikers in Wadi Kelt in October 1993 and the murder of an Israeli civilian in Jerusalem in March 1993.

Majdi Haziv Yusuf Rahima Rimawi, 41, resident of Ramallah and a senior PFLP terrorist, headed the terror cell that assassinated Minister Rehavam Zeevi.

During the year 2001 he operated alongside Ahed Ulmeh and dispatched a number of terror attacks in Jerusalem and Yehud. Rimawi dispatched the terrorists who carried out the Yehud attack, and provided them with the explosive devices that they placed in the vehicles in Yehud. As previously mentioned, six Israelis were wounded in the attack. Rimawi was directly responsible for recruiting and dispatching the terrorist cell that assassinated Zeevi.

Hamdi Quran, 32, resident of El Birah neighborhood in Ramallah, assassin of Minister Zeevi, was recruited to the PFLP terror organization by Majdi Rimawi in the beginning of October 2000, having been instructed by him to carry out terror attacks inside Israel. In July 2001, Rimawi provided Quran with explosive devices, which he placed in the vehicles in Yehud.

On October 17th 2001, at the instruction of Majdi Rimawi and Ahed Ulmeh, Quran headed towards the Hyatt hotel in Jerusalem, along with Bassel Assamer. The two ambushed Zeevi at the entrance to his room in the hotel. Quran was the one who pulled the trigger and assassinated Zeevi with three bullets.

Bassel Abdul Rahman Ahmed Assamer, 30, member of the terror cell that assassinated Minister Rehavam Zeevi. The resident of the village of Beit Rima, north of Ramallah, has been an operative of the PFLP for a number of years. Assamer was responsible for guarding the assassins and keeping watch in the stairway of the hotel during the assassination.

Fuad Hajazi Muhammed Shubaki, 64, involved in the attempted smuggling of weapons into Palestinian Authority areas aboard the ship 'Karine A'. Until September 2001, the resident of the Gaza Strip carried a VIP card, due to his official position as the man in charge of managing the funds of the PA General Security Apparatuses. Shubaki was also directly responsible and personally involved in activating and funding terrorist cells that carried out terror attacks, purchased weaponry and transferred it to the PA. Shubaki was jailed at the Jericho prison with the other five wanted PFLP terrorists, under the same international agreements.

Source: IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis