Saturday, October 22, 2005
Elder of ZiyonLet's all hold our breath as the condemnations and criticisms come pouring in from the Arab world and the media.
Five wanted terror suspects have been arrested in overnight searches conducted by the IDF in a village north of Nablus in the early hours of Saturday.
In a house where the suspects were hiding 10 Kg (about 22 pounds) of explosives were found. An extensive search of the house revealed that the wife of one of the suspects had hidden a hand-grenade under the toddler she was holding in her arms.
The army confirmed that the suspects’ apprehension almost certainly deterred a deadly attack against Israeli soldiers and civilians.
The details of the operation were described in a briefing to Ynet by Lieutenant General Arik Khen: “A brigade was sent on an operation to arrest five wanted Palestinians affiliated with Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, following reports that they possess ammunitions. During our searches we found a suite case loaded with 10 Kg of explosives which was hidden in a wardrobe in the house of one of the suspects.”
General Khen described how the suspect’s wife suspiciously carried a baby, which prompted soldiers to search her. “We felt something wasn’t right. We demanded to search the baby and we found she was carrying a grenade that she attempted to hide under the baby,” he said.
“I can firmly confirm that an attack against soldiers and civilians has been thwarted. We are speaking about a large quantity of explosives found in three-storey building which was badly damaged when police sappers detonated the suitcase,” Khen said.
The IDF general added that “terror activities haven’t stopped a minute” saying that troops are on duty in Palestinian cities and villages everynight.
Eleven Hamas activists were arrested in the West Bank town of Hebron overnight Saturday.
UPDATE: Although YNet reported this around 9 AM EDT on Saturday, it has not been reported in any non-Israeli news source yet.
After all, dog bites man isn't news - the world expects Palestinians to have no regard for the lives of their children. Which is why they can get away with it.
UPDATE 2: AP picked up on the story, adding that the woman denies knowing there was a grenade in her jacket pocket. Not a trace of cynicism about her claim in that report by Ali Daraghmeh.
