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September 5, 2003
Soldier killed in Jenin ambush
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
Golani Brigade Sgt. Gavriel Uziel, 20, of Givat Ze'ev, was killed early Thursday morning in Jenin when Palestinian gunmen fired at soldiers arresting terrorist fugitives believed to be planning an imminent suicide bombing.
The soldiers had just arrested Islamic Jihad commander Ahmed al-Sheikh, a senior terrorist involved in planning the attack, security sources said. They were leaving the area when they came under sporadic gunfire from several directions, which became more intensive.
A bullet hit Uziel in the gap between his shoulder and his ceramic bulletproof vest. Seriously wounded, he died on the way to the hospital.
Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigade and Fatah's Aksa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack. They said gun battles continued for more than two hours.
"The soldiers operated throughout the night in Jenin to carry out arrests," IDF Menashe District commander Col. Dan Hefetz told reporters. "The aim was to thwart and hamper attempts by terrorists to perpetrate a suicide bombing in Israel in the near future.
"During the operation the soldiers were engaged in gun battles with a number of fugitives located in the area where the arrests were made. [Uziel] was hit after Sheikh, the main suspect of Islamic Jihad, was arrested and the soldiers were preparing to leave the site."
Hefetz said there are many warnings of impending terrorist attacks originating from the Jenin area, adding that there has been a sharp increase in warnings since the Palestinians declared a cease-fire following the Aqaba Summit.
"We are in the midst of an intensive campaign to thwart terrorist attacks," he said. "The operation during the night in which we arrested seven fugitives is just part of our efforts."
Hefetz said security forces are searching for the gunman who shot Uziel. "I believe it is only a matter of time before we get to him," he said. "There is no curfew on Jenin, but we have imposed a blockade on the city in order to hamper terrorists' attempts to leave the city and enter Israel."
The hard-core terrorist infrastructure in Samaria is based in Jenin and controlled by Islamic Jihad, according to Israeli security officials.
The last attack launched by a terrorist cell from Jenin was on July 7 when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the living room of a house in Moshav Kfar Yavetz, killing 65-year-old Mazal Afari.
The Shin Bet has received concrete warnings of plans by Jenin-based terrorists to carry out a car bombing or suicide bombing in Israel.
Between June and August this year, security forces thwarted 13 terrorist attacks planned by Islamic Jihad in Jenin, and have arrested and killed scores of its members.
Uziel was buried in the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem Thursday evening. He is survived by his parents, three sisters, and a brother.
Elsewhere in the West Bank and Gaza Strip:
- An undercover Border Police unit arrested three Tanzim fugitives in Salfit, north of Ramallah, who had in their possession a Kalashnikov rifle and a pistol.
- Security forces arrested a Hamas fugitive in Nablus's Balata refugee camp, a fugitive in Hebron, and another in Jaba, near Ramallah.
- Five Palestinians were arrested in Barqeen, south of Jenin, after IDF forces entered the village in the early morning hours and imposed a curfew, according to Palestinian sources.
- An IDF officer was lightly wounded when Palestinian gunmen fired at soldiers manning the Gerit outpost near the Egyptian border. The soldier was treated at the scene and taken to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.
- Shots were fired harmlessly at soldiers near Rafah
In Memoriam
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