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Terrorist Caught Red Handed, Then Released, by Aaron Klein (Ynet)
Brigades member detained for involvement in terror activity, then let go after IDF determined he was on Olmert’s amnesty list.
Full Text;
Israel yesterday captured an Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades member while he was engaging in terror-supporting activity but let him go after it was determined he was on a list of wanted gunmen granted amnesty by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, WND has learned.
Part of the amnesty deal required the 178 terrorists – all of whom are members of the Brigades, the declared military wing of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah’s organization – to sign a document stating they will not engage in terrorist activity and that they would restrict their movements to the city in which they reside for three months.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades took responsibility along with Islamic Jihad for every suicide bombing in Israel the past three years. The amnesty agreement was made as an Israeli gesture to Abbas and to bolster Fatah against Hamas in the West Bank.
The incident in question occurred on Wednesday at 8:30 pm when the IDF stopped what security sources said were four suspicious Palestinians entering the al-Badin checkpoint outside the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
Two Palestinians were immediately let go when it was determined they were civilians, but the two others – known Brigades members – were detained after they were found to be carrying large quantities of bullets security sources said were being smuggled from Jenin to Nablus.
According to security sources, the Brigades members normally reside in Nablus and had left the city and purchased the bullets in Jenin. They were captured upon trying to reenter Nablus. In line with the amnesty agreement, the one military on the list had pledged to restrict his movements and remain in Nablus. The sources said the listed militant told the IDF repeatedly he was on Israel’s amnesty list and that arresting him would “blow up” relations with the PA.
After consulting with superiors, the IDF released the Brigades member on the amnesty list but arrested the other gunman.
Asked to comment, the IDF did not deny the incident: “We make our arrests in accordance with the directives of the political echelon and the different agreements with the PA,” said an IDF spokesperson.
An Israeli security official told WND this was not the first time Brigades members granted amnesty violated their agreement to refrain from terrorism. He said the military was aware of one incident last month in which a Brigades gunman on the list shot at Israeli forces.
Most Brigades members have two to three guns, including one to two personal weapons and one assault rifle issued by the PA, since the majority of Brigades members are also members of Fatah’s security forces.
“It’s true Brigades members turned in one of their weapons as a symbolic act, but they kept the others.”
“We now have a situation in which a terrorist organization has been given a get-out-of-jail-free card – literally,” the official fumed.
According to statements by Palestinian officials and reports by the media, most terrorists turned in their weapons in line with the deal.
A widely circulated AP article this past weekend quoted a senior Palestinian security official stating “all but three Al Aqsa members have surrendered their weapons and sworn off violence, as part of the arrangement.”
But calls Monday to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades members who received amnesty yielded a much different story.
Abu Yousuf, a senior leader of the Brigades in Ramallah, told WND most Brigades members turned in one of several pieces of weaponry they possess.
He said most Brigades members have two to three guns, including one to two personal weapons and one assault rifle issued by the PA, since the majority of Brigades members are also members of Fatah’s security forces.
“It’s true Brigades members turned in one of their weapons as a symbolic act, but they kept the others,” he said.