TERRORIST LEADER RESPONSIBLE FOR LAST THURSDAY'S JERUSALEM SUICIDE BOMBING
KILLED IN BETHLEHEM
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
Monday, 02 February, 2004

[IMRA: Ironically, this item, that describes an operation that Israel would
find extremely difficult and diplomatically costly to carry out if carried
out inside a sovereign Palestinian state, was distributed a few hours after
news of PM Sharon's retreat plan.]

During a joint IDF-ISA operation in the Aida refugee camp in the Bethlehem
district today (Monday), 2.2.2004, Bethlehem area Izadin al-Kassam leader
Muhammad Abu Ouda was killed. According to intelligence assessments, Abu
Ouda was behind last Thursday's suicide attack in Jerusalem
( www.israel-mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0oa10 ), in which 11 people
were murdered and over 40 were wounded (the attack itself was perpetrated by
Ali Jaara, a Palestinian policeman who resided in the camp).

As his home was being searched for him, Abu Ouda opened fire at Israeli
forces from a hidden compartment, wounding four soldiers. Abu Ouda was
killed by return fire; an FN pistol was found in his possession.

Abu Ouda was a member of the Hamas military infrastructure led by Ali Alaan,
which perpetrated many attacks, including the 18.6.2002 suicide bombing of a
#32A bus in Jerusalem in which 19 people were murdered and 50 were wounded
( www.israel-mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0lu70 ) and the 21.11.2002
suicide bombing of #20 bus in Jerusalem in which 11 people were murdered and
45 were wounded ( www.israel-mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0mur0 ).

Ali Alaan trained Abu Ouda as a senior explosives expert. Upon the March
2003 deaths of Ali Alaan and other senior cell members, Abu Ouda assumed his
place and became Hamas's senior explosives expert in the Bethlehem area.
Abu Ouda recruited terrorists, including suicide terrorists, and planned
additional attacks, one of which was foiled by security forces in November
2003 to coincide with the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Given his background and following the 1.7.2003 IDF withdrawal from
Bethlehem, Abu Ouda's name was passed on to the Palestinian Authority
security services; these took no action whatsoever, neither against Abu Ouda
nor any of the other terrorists in the Bethlehem district. In light of the
foregoing and given that Ali Jara was a Palestinian Authority policeman, it
is clear that the Palestinian Authority security services are doing nothing
to prevent Bethlehem-based terrorism.