Israel Matzav

Suicide bomber caught at checkpoint Condi wants dismantled

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice keeps pushing Israel to dismantle its checkpoints in Judea and Samaria so that the 'Palestinians' can have 'freedom of movement.' Late last night, one of those checkpoints saved an awful lot of lives. The checkpoint in question is the Hawara checkpoint, whose removal the 'Palestinian Authority' and the US State Department have long demanded. On Monday night, a suicide bomber tried to pass through the checkpoint. IDF troops shot and killed him.

Alert IDF soldiers at a Samaria checkpoint on Monday night shot and killed a 20-year-old Arab man who had explosives strapped to his body. When soldiers spotted the explosive devices and the terrorist refused to comply with their orders, a commander on the scene opened fire to prevent what appeared to be an attempt at detonation. The incident took place at the Hawara checkpoint, 25 miles east of Herzliya.

Nineteen-year-old Corporal Michal Ya'akov is credited with raising the initial alarm. At around 8:00 pm, she ordered the Palestinian Authority resident to pass through the metal detector at the checkpoint, which sounded a beep signaling that a further search was necessary. She told him to raise his shirt, exposing several explosive devices strapped to his body in a bomb vest. Cpl. Yaakov alerted the other soldiers at the checkpoint, initiating an isolation and neutralization procedure.

The man refused orders to lie down and began to lower his arms, apparently to set off the bombs. A commander at the checkpoint then shot and killed the terrorist before he could take any further action.

Soldiers cordoned off the area where the body lay until IDF sappers called to the scene gave the all-clear signal. A vest laden with five pipe bombs was removed from the dead would-be terrorist. It remains unknown if his intention was to throw the bombs or detonate himself along with them.

Military sources expressed concern that Defense Minister Ehud Barak's order this week to remove dozens of roadblocks and checkpoints to ease travel restrictions for Arabs will also make it easier for terrorists to reach Israel's urban centers.

Thank God we don't have more 'sacrifices for peace' this morning. But the more roadblocks Israel removes, the greater the risks that we will have more 'sacrifices' eventually. The 'Palestinians' aren't interested in peace. They are interested in murdering as many Jews as possible. It's high time that members of the Bush administration (other than the President himself - watch the video at that link) and the staffs of the Presidential candidates wake up to that reality.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:09 AM