Senior Hamas Operative Crosses Into Gaza Strip
Excerpts:
“Fadel Zahar is the first high-ranking Hamas official known to return to the Gaza Strip since the border crossing was reopened last Friday. His brother, Mahmoud Zahar, is the top leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.”
“Fadel Zahar was deported from the Gaza Strip in 1991 along with three other top Hamas operatives: Imad Alami, Mustafa Kanu, and Mustafa Liddawi. Since then Zahar has been living in Sudan and Syria, where other Hamas leaders are located.”
“Many Hamas members who have been living in different Arab countries have returned to the Gaza Strip since Israel relinquished control over the Rafah terminal. Last week, shortly before Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas inaugurated the border crossing, another Hamas activist crossed the border into the Gaza Strip.”
“Rafik al-Hasanat, a senior member of Hamas who has been wanted by Israel for more than a decade, arrived through the Rafah crossing after it was opened briefly to allow stranded Palestinian passengers on the Egyptian side to return home.”
“Hasanat belonged to Izzaddin al-Kassam, the armed wing of Hamas; he fled to Egypt in 1993 after he learned that the IDF was searching for him because of his involvement in terror attacks. Since then he has been hiding in Sudan, Yemen, Libya and Jordan.”
PA Police, IDF Clash During Arrest Raid
Excerpts:
“A Palestinian policemen was wounded in the foot during a violent confrontation that erupted between Palestinian police and Israeli undercover security forces in Bethlehem on Tuesday.”
“The incident began when shots were fired at Israeli fighters in an undercover unit operating in the city to arrest fugitives. According to the IDF, the soldiers, who were forced to abort the operation, fired deterrent shots in the air which successfully dispersed the Palestinian fighters.”