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Israel achieved a major breakthrough
in its fight against terrorism by
capturing Hamas’s West Bank
military-wing ‘commander’ wanted in
the death of 78 Israelis and wounding
of several hundred. Reports say that
the Israeli Army surrounded the
hideout of Ibrahim Hameed in Ramallah
just 200 yards from the house of
Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas and threatened to
destroy the building and him with it.
Hameed eventually agreed to come out,
was ordered to strip to his underwear,
and then taken to a local Army
barrack.
Forty One year old Hameed assumed
leadership of Hamas’s military
Izzedine al Qassam in Dec 2003 and is
being accused of masterminding suicide
bombings at Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, an outdoor café, and a pool
hall in Central Israel. Hameed was
held briefly in Palestine jails but
was release in 2002 in the wake of a
major military assault of the West
Bank by Israel. Hameed has degrees in
political science and history from the
Bir Zeit University located in the
West Bank in 1993.
Hamas has been holding an informal
truce with Israel since February 2005.
It is not clear if Hamas will treat
this as a breach of truce.
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