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Israel Fails To Capture Hamas Member As Islamists Vow Revenge
NABLUS, Feb 20 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - An Israeli special forces unit failed to capture a wanted Hamas resistance member in a pre-dawn raid Tuesday near the northern West Bank town of Jenin and briefly detained his brother instead, news agencies reported.
Backed up by a helicopter gunship, Israeli troops raided several houses in the Burqin valley west of Jenin to try and arrest Nasser Jerrar, who residents said was a prominent member of Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement that has waged numerous painful anti-occupation operations.
But witnesses said the soldiers were unable to find Jerrar and instead detained his brother, Walid, for two hours. It was not clear why Israel wanted to arrest Jerrar.
On Monday, a Hamas resistance member, Mahmud el-Madini, 25, was shot dead in a refugee camp in Nablus in what the movement said was a cold-blooded assassination conducted by Israel.
The Israeli army has carried out a number of what it calls "pinpoint strikes" against Palestinians it accuses of waging attacks against Israel during the five-month-old Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, that broke out in September to protest Israeli occupation of Muslim holy sites.
Amid threats by Hamas to avenge his murder, thousands of mourners took part in Madani's funeral as he was laid to rest in Nablus on Tuesday. He was killed as he was returning from the noon prayer to his nearby grocery store.
Hamas states that collaborators may have opened fire on Madani, fatally wounding him in the chest.
Madani had been imprisoned, tortured and interrogated several times by the Israelis, and was eventually released for lack of evidence.
Islamist leaders vowed to avenge the murder. One leader, Jamal Salim, said "the Zionist should understand that if our blood is shed their blood will be shed, too."
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