Gaza Businessman Sought in Slaying of Hamas Bomber
The Palestinian prosecutor general ordered the arrest Tuesday of a Gaza businessman suspected of playing a role in killing Yehiya Ayash, the Hamas Islamic movement’s top bomb maker, known as “The Engineer.”
Israeli and Palestinian newspapers said Israel had paid Kamal Hammad $1 million and given him a false passport in return for getting to Ayash the booby-trapped cellular phone that killed him Friday in the Gaza Strip.
“I have issued a warrant to all police stations and border crossings to arrest Kamal Hammad,” said the prosecutor general, Khaled Kidra.
A senior Palestinian security official said the Palestinian Authority will pursue Hammad with an extradition request wherever he may be hiding.
The newspapers said Hammad fled to Israel immediately after Ayash’s death. Some said he may have left for the United States, where a son is said to be living.
Kidra said an unspecified number of suspects are being held in connection with the killing. He declined to elaborate.
Ayash was long identified by Israel as the brains behind a wave of suicide bombings that killed scores of Israelis. He topped Israel’s “most wanted” list of terrorists.
Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and Hamas accuse Israel of killing Ayash.
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