VIDEO - In a statement summarizing the Israel Defense Forces' recent activities in Ramallah, which included the capture of the murderers of Itamar youth Eliyahu Asheri, Central Command Chief Maj. Gen. Yair Naveh said: "We were not able to bring back the boy, but we did close the case. Everyone knew that the IDF would find the perpetrators anywhere."
Asheri was kidnapped last week while hitchhiking to his home in Itamar. Last Thursday, his body was found in Ramallah and identified. The three murderers surrendered Monday night to IDF forces after a three hour stand-off, during which they barricaded themselves in the Ramallah police station, where they were being held by Palestinian police.
Dozens of soldiers, in 30 jeeps, participated in the operation, which took place around midnight. The IDF used megaphones to demand the surrender of the three and threatened to demolish the structure if they refused.
"This was a complicated operation," explained Naveh in a press conference summarizing the operation. "They were in a Palestinian police building, containing traffic and civil order policemen. The operation was slightly similar to the one in Jericho prison. Our forces surrounded the structure; we knew exactly which rooms they were in, we negotiated with the local police force and, using joint pressure, persuaded the three terrorists to come out, where they were arrested and handed over for questioning."
The Maj. Gen. went on to say that the terrorists' preliminary description of the events matches the one given to questioners by another member of their cell who was captured last week by SWAT forces.
"Eliyahu Asheri was kidnapped in the Ofrah junction and brought to Ramallah, where another three Palestinians joined the group. One of them shot him with a pistol at close range, using a pillow to muffle the sound. Afterwards, he was buried in the ground and members of the cell scattered in order to avoid detection.
According to Naveh, there was never the intention to conduct negotiations for the kidnapped youth, even when he was still assumed to be alive.
The general further mentioned that, in the past few days, Palestinian police forces arrested several members of the terrorist cell, but released them. Their final location was determined using intelligence information. "A few days ago, we asked Palestinian security forces to hand over the murderers, but nothing was done."
PRC: Question Ramallah police chief
Tuesday afternoon, members of Salach a-Din, the military wing of the Palestinian Resistance Committees, expressed anger over what they claimed was the cooperation of Palestinian security forces with Israel in the operation to arrest Asheri's murderers. In a press conference in Gaza, organization spokesmen promised: "our sword will reach the chief of police in Ramallah and the chief of intelligence in the city." They demanded from Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to investigate their claims and dismiss the chief of Palestinian police, Ala Husseini.
Concurrent with this operation, Golani forces in Jenin were also working to locate and arrest wanted persons, in this case from the Islamic Jihad, whose leaders constantly change. Heads of the terrorist infrastructure were planning a terror attack in the sector or the homefront.
"This was to be a combined attack: a bomb placed at the entrance of the refugee camp in Jenin and an explosive vehicle located on the forces' exit route from the area. The vehicle – carrying more than 15 kilograms of explosives – was found and exploded in a controlled manner. During the operation, the head of the terrorist cell was killed and another member was injured and escaped," said Naveh.
He continued: "We are witnessing a trend of increasing and more extreme terror attempts, especially by the Islamic Jihad in northern Samaria. In Nablus and Ramallah, kidnapping attempts are also very prevalent."
Naveh added that continuing operations against Hamas will also include actions against the "Dawa", associations in the guise of charitable institutions, who, in reality, pass along funds to terror organizations. According to him, approximately 30 such associations have been shut down.