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An image of a bloodied sharon at the business end of a Islamic Jihad rifle. See below for full image. (AP)
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An Islamic Jihad terrorist points at a bloodied image of PM Sharon. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners March 1, 2005 |
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| Coming attractions? Islamic Jihad shows their masked manliness. One terrorist said the group was planning to fire rockets at Afula in northern Israel. (AP) |
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Israel on Tuesday linked the Islamic Jihad terror group, which claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing last week, to a failed attempt to blow up a car crammed with half a ton of explosives, the largest bomb built in more than four years of fighting here.
Analysts believe the terrorists are members of a rogue cell directed by Islamic Jihad leaders abroad, against the wishes of local leaders who have agreed to halt attacks in Israel.
Security officials revealed Tuesday that a captured Jihad terrorist told his interrogators of the car bomb plot, plans to carry out a rocket attack on the Israeli town of Afula and preparations for a double suicide bombing against a Jerusalem school.
The terrorist, Jibril Zubeydi, was arrested two months ago, the security officials said on condition of anonymity. His brother, Zakariye Zubeydi, is a leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades militant group in the West Bank town of Jenin.
The military discovered the car filled with explosives parked Monday at a junction near Jenin when an officer noticed wires sticking out of it. A long cable snaking from the car was attached to a battery and video camera, which was to document the attack, military officials said.
The army detonated the car bomb in a controlled explosion. The other two plots were also foiled, the military said.
Regional army commander Col. Oren Avman said the car contained some 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of explosives and said the officer who discovered it prevented "a huge disaster."
"Even an armored vehicle or bus could not withstand such a huge bomb," he told Israel Army Radio.
The attempted attack followed a suicide bombing outside a Tel Aviv nightclub Friday night that killed five Israelis and shattered the relative calm following a Feb. 8 cease-fire declared by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Palestinian terror groups, including Islamic Jihad and Hamas, had agreed to abide by the cease-fire.
The bombing Friday was claimed by Islamic Jihad, and Avman said the army believed the same group might have been behind the car bomb.
Israeli analysts said the new violence was the result of an apparent fracture within the Islamic Jihad leadership, with the Damascus-based leaders determined to scuttle the fragile cease-fire.
"The more pragmatic Gaza Strip-based leadership realizes it has to come to an agreement with the new Palestinian leadership," said Yoni Fighel, an expert on Islamic extremists at the Herzliya counterterrorism center.
"But the leaders in Syria identify with the goals of Iran, Syria and the Hezbollah who are determined not to allow any normalization between Israel and the Palestinians," Fighel said.
Fighel said the Damascus leaders have broken the traditional hierarchy of the group and are operating cells directly.
The Islamic Jihad group initially denied involvement in the Tel Aviv attack, before reversing itself nearly 24 hours later and accepting responsibility.
In a video released after the attack, the bomber, Abdullah Badran, 21, was flanked by an Islamic Jihad flag and said he was going to carry out the attack on behalf of Islamic Jihad.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said those behind the bombing would have to be dealt with.
"Obviously, when you have Palestinian Islamic Jihad taking responsibility, then something needs to be done about that because they are clearly challenging directly the Palestinian Authority," Rice said en route to London on Monday where she is attending a conference on Palestinian reform.
The U.N. Security Council also condemned the bombing, but removed mention of the Islamic Jihad from the statement.
"In light of recent positive steps taken by both sides and on the eve of important meetings in London, the council calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint," the statement said.
The AP contributed to this report.
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