An officer in the Nahal Special Force was killed in an exchange of fire with terrorists early Wednesday morning at the Jalama crossing north of Jenin. According to the commander of the Judea and Samaria Division, Brigadier General Avi Bluth, the officer charged at the terrorists and shot at them before being hit.
The two terrorists who were killed by the Nahal soldiers are Ahmed Ayman Abed and Abdel Rahman Hani Abed from Kafr Dan, near Jenin.
According to Bluth, at 11:39 PM Tuesday, the two young men were spotted 15 meters from the border fence, and an Israeli force stationed at the fence fired in the air, in keeping with the rules of engagement, which the State Department holds so precious. At 1:20 AM, after the Nahal circled the two terrorists and arrived behind them undetected, and at 2:15 AM, proceeded according to the rules of engagement, calling on them to surrender, the terrorists unpacked their automatic weapons and started shooting.
At that point, the Nahal squad’s commander charged at the terrorists and was killed. The Terrorists were promptly eliminated, holding their improvised Carlo guns. Their parents were summoned to identify their bodies. Needless to say, had they been shot on sight, we wouldn’t be mourning for a special force officer and the two Terrorists would still be dead, only a couple of hours earlier.
It has been confirmed that Ahmed Abed, 21, was a member of the Palestinian Intelligence, something Defense Minister Benny Gantz should have inquired about when he hosted PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at his home in Rehovot a few months ago.
Shortly after the incident, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades issued a statement taking responsibility for the attack.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is the military wing of Fatah, the largest party in the Palestinian Liberation Organization. The Brigades have been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States.
To remind you, Defense Minister Gantz believes in the need to boost the Palestinian Authority against its enemies, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. The theory is that the Palestinian security apparatus’ self-interest is to fight terrorists, which is a win-win for Israel. Perhaps it’s time to change policy and start killing those PA security folks – before they kill more IDF soldiers.
Bluth believes the two terrorists had been waiting in ambush for the Israeli force and were guided from a more distant observation post.
Good thing we gave them those nice walkie-talkies.
