Arch-terrorist: ‘Calm’ gone to hell
Zacharia Zubeidi, head of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Jenin, says following killing of senior Brigades commander by IDF forces operating near Jenin, ‘The agreed-upon ‘calm’ is dead and has gone to hell; we will respond
The agreed-upon ‘calm’ is dead and has gone to hell, Zacharia Zubeidi, head of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Jenin, said Thursday following the killing of fellow terrorist Samer Saadi.
Saadi, a senior al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades commander, was killed early Thursday during an exchange of fire between Palestinians and IDF forces operating near Jenin.
“We granted the ‘calm’ to (PA Chairman Mahmoud) Abbas, but Israel has not respected it,” Zubeidi said.
“We will not sit back – we will respond to Israel’s breaches. We gave diplomacy a number of chances, but the ‘calm’ died with Samer Saadi. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades’ response will take place everywhere; in Israel as well. The struggle will continue.”
The two other Palestinians killed in Jenin were identified as Samer Shalby of the al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad’s military wing, and Nidal Haluf of the Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Both terrorists were shot dead in the West Bank village of Burkin, west of Jenin.
IDF sources said two Palestinians opened fire at the forces during a military operation south of the city. The soldiers returned fire and killed the gunmen, they said, adding that a third Palestinian later fired at troops in the same area. Soldiers shot and killed him.
Earlier two Palestinian police officers were injured in an exchange of fire with gunmen, apparently belonging to Islamic Jihad, Palestinian officials said earlier Wednesday.
The exchange of fire occurred when the policemen attempted to prevent the gunmen from approaching the fence near the Karni crossing. An IDF force deployed on the other side of the fence spotted the three armed men and relayed a report to Palestinian forces, who quickly arrived on the scene.
Once the PA troops arrived, the gunmen opened fire and hurled a grenade at them.
The Palestinians said two officers were lightly heart and initiated a search for the shooters. The IDF stayed out of the incident but troops continue to monitor it closely.
Following the incident reinforcement troops were called to the scene, where a search for the perpetrators has been launched.
