Naval commando Third Petty Officer Roi Oren, 20, of Moshav Udim, was killed in a gun battle with Hamas terrorists in the Askar refugee camp early Friday morning. Two terrorists were also killed. Oren was buried in the moshav cemetery on Friday afternoon.
The IDF operation sought to arrest two senior Hamas terrorists, bomb master and mechanic Hamis Abu Salem, 23, and Fa'iz Sider, who were planning suicide bomb attacks in the near future. Shortly after 4 a.m. Friday, naval commandos accompanied by tanks and armored personnel carriers entered the Askar refugee camp after receiving intelligence regarding the whereabouts of Salem and Sider. The troops surrounded the building and called on the two to surrender. In response, the terrorists shot at the soldiers, killing Oren.
Soldiers returned fire and then launched an anti-tank rocket at the third-floor apartment where the Hamas fugitives were hiding, detonating hundreds of kilograms of explosions kept by the two in an apparent bomb factory. The blasts collapsed the third floor and the second floor ceiling, OC Judea and Samaria Brig.-Gen. Gadi Eizencott told reporters near Tapuah on Friday. The families that lived in the building under bomb factory were evacuated by the IDF after the explosion, he said. One of the two fugitives is believed to have died in the blast, and the other was buried in the rubble after the building caved in, he said.
Soldiers searching the building found IDF uniforms and two rifles and a pistol. Two other camp residents, Fawzi al-Alami, 45, and Muhammad al-Tek, 17, died of wounds they sustained on Friday when soldiers and residents clashed. On Saturday morning, soldiers arrested four Hamas terrorists suspected of planning a revenge attack in response to the deaths of Salem and Sider. Three were arrested in Tubas and a fourth in Ein al-Beida, east of Nablus. The four were identified as brothers Hassan and Muhammad Muhisen and Abdullah and Ali Daraghmeh.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, speaking to reporters outside his Ramallah headquarters, accused Israel of trying to destroy the entire peace process. A statement issued by the PA warned Israel "not to play with fire." Hamas at first vowed to avenge the deaths of its two senior members, but later declared it is still committed to the truce called on June 29. PA Minister of Culture Ziad Abu Amr said Saturday he doubted Hamas would maintain its restraint for much longer. "I don't think they will continue to commit to the truce if the Israeli army continues to destroy houses, arrest wanted men, and kill them," he said, urging the international community to pressure Israel to stop its actions. In response, Ra'anan Gissin, a spokesman for the prime minister, said, "Arafat is the big spoiler. He doesn't want this hudna (cease-fire) to succeed."
Eizencott said that since the truce went into effect at the end of June there have been 41 shooting and bomb attacks on cars on West Bank roads and settlements in the region. In addition, there were 29 attacks in Area A under sole Palestinian control.
In that period, the IDF launched 115 operations to arrest Palestinian terrorists in areas under Israeli security control (Area B) and 80 in Area A due to the PA's failure to crack down on the terrorists, he said. At least 10 of the terrorists arrested planned to carry out suicide bomb attacks, he said.
Security forces are operating nightly in the West Bank to thwart terrorist attacks, he said. "Since the truce was declared on June 29, security forces have thwarted scores of attacks, especially in the Nablus area," he said.
Despite a decrease in the number of terrorist threats in recent weeks, "a little luck and the intense operations by the IDF" have foiled numerous attacks, he said. "We are committed to protecting and safeguarding the citizens of Israel. The IDF operates throughout the West Bank, except in Bethlehem where the PA took over the responsibility of security. We will continue such operations until we see effective actions carried out by the PA to combat terrorism," he said. Hundreds attended Roi's funeral on Friday afternoon at his moshav. His commanding officer praised Roi, calling him a friend who could always be depended on. Standing over his grave, he said, "It's hard to lose a fighter like you, who defended your family and friends with your body.
After you were hit, your comrades battled for hours, just as you would have done." Roi is survived by his parents, Batsheva and Gadi, his older sister, Re'ut, and his younger brother, Ori, who is due to begin his military service soon. Ori was named after his uncle, a doctor who was killed during military service.
