Terrorist attempts to fool metal detector
Cleared for publication: Would-be bomber seized in Jerusalem in July was in possession of explosive belt containing liquid which prevents it from being detected by metal detector
The terrorist was a Popular Resistance Committees activist and was guided from Gaza. A similar belt was later captured in Ramallah.
Ashraf was taken into interrogation by the Shin Bet and confessed that he was recruited about a month and a half earlier by members of a military group from his village and was trained to carry out a terror attack.
The interrogation revealed that the group was recruited three months earlier by PRC activists in the Gaza Strip. On July 16, Ashraf was transferred to Ramallah, passing through roadblocks on the way.
In Ramallah he was trained on how to use an explosive belt and received the belt and some money. A day later, he entered Jerusalem through an area where the separation fence had yet to be built, and was later captured.
During his interrogation, Ashraf provided the names of the rest of the group members, including 26-year-old Ibrahim Mahmad Shaaban Ibrahim Alhamdi, a Ramallah resident who worked at the Palestinian national security organization in the city. Alhandi was arrested on July 26.
In the middle of the year, Alhandi received two explosive belts from PRC members. One of the belts was given to Ashraf and the other, which was hidden at the national security organization's headquarters, was handed over to the security forces by Alhandi.
Palestinian killed in Nablus area
Meanwhile, Palestinian sources reported that a 23-year-old Palestinian was killed Wednesday night in the al-Ain refugee camp near Nablus while in his house.
According to the Palestinians, the man was a civilian, but other sources said that he was the brother of a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Fatah's military wing.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that during an overnight operation in Nablus an IDF force spotted a Palestinian gunman and fired at him.
During the operation, the forces spotted a suspicion object and fired at it, causing an explosion. It was later revealed that the object was an explosive device. There were no reports of injuries.
