Israel captured a regional Hamas leader in the West Bank yesterday whom it alleges was behind several major suicide bombings, while security forces inside the Jewish state revealed they had recently arrested seven Israeli Arab citizens whom they claim aided a Palestinian bomber who blew himself up on a bus earlier this month, killing nine people.
During a raid in the northern West Bank refugee camp of Jenin, Israeli special forces and armoured vehicles stormed a three-story building where Jamal Abul Haji, (44), was hiding out.
Israeli security sources alleged that Haji, who lost a hand during intense fighting with soldiers in April, was the architect of six suicide attacks, including the bombing of a Jerusalem pizzeria a year ago in which 15 people were killed and 90 wounded.
Police said yesterday that two of the seven Israeli Arabs they had detained - all are members of the Bakri clan in the northern town of Bana - were directly involved in the planning of the attack on August 4th, in which a bomber ripped apart a bus carrying soldiers near the northern town of Safed.
According to the allegations, the two Israeli Arabs gave the bomber - Jihad Hamadi, a labourer from Jordan illegally in Israel - a place to sleep, helped store the explosives used in the attack, assisted the bomber in disguising himself as a tourist, and purchased batteries to be used in the explosive device.
On the day of the bombing, they are also said to have scouted out a bus filled with soldiers as the desired target and then dropped the bomber off at a stop along the bus route.
Since the start of the intifada two years ago, Israel's 1.2 million Arabs have been increasingly torn between their support for the Palestinian cause and their status as Israeli citizens.
The number of incidents in which Israeli Arabs have been involved in attacks since the start of the uprising has risen - there were 25 instances in 2001 and 27 so far this year - but the number of people involved in these attacks, relatively, is still very small.Nevertheless, it is a matter of considerable concern for Israel's security.