Attack at Ariel junction (archive)
Photo: AP
Hamas cell responsible for 2005 attack arrested in Nablus
Troops arrest six Palestinians who confess to killing of two IDF soliders in 2005 attack, wounding of third soldier in recent shooting attack
Six members of a Hamas
cell in Nablus were arrested Tuesday in a joint IDF and Shin Bet operation. The men confessed to the killing of two IDF soldiers in a shooting attack in the West Bank town of Migdalim in 2005 and a shooting attack at the Ariel junction two months ago. A soldier and Israeli civilian were seriously injured in the Ariel attack.
The Migdalim attack took place on January 7, 2005, adjacent to the West Bank village. Members of the cell disguised themselves as IDF soldiers and pulled over an Israeli vehicle to the side of the road. When the car stopped, they opened fire at its four occupants.
The driver, Staff Sgt.Yosef Atia, was pronounced dead shortly after the attack and 2nd Lt. Ariel Boda, who was severely wounded in the ambush, died of his wounds several months later. Two additional soldiers were lightly wounded in the attack.
In the Ariel junction attack, occurring October 24th of this year, the six-member cell approached a bus station and opened fire at the soldiers and civilians standing there. One soldier was moderately wounded.
The Hamas gunmen then proceeded to fire at passersby on the Trans-Samaria Highway, lightly wounding another Israeli civilian. They later torched their vehicle and returned to Nablus.
Defense officials said the arrest "clearly demonstrates that, in spite of its claims to the contrary, Hamas is still very much involved in terror attacks in the west Bank, the Gaza strip, as well as within Israel.”
