9 Palestinians Suspected of Ties to Militant Arrested
Israeli and Palestinian police have arrested nine Palestinians with possible ties to a top Islamic militant who eluded Israeli troops in a botched weekend raid of his hide-out, officials said Monday.
The failed operation--three soldiers were killed, possibly by “friendly fire”--prompted sharp criticism of army planning and the secret Duvdevan undercover unit, one of Israel’s key weapons in the fight against militants.
A series of blunders turned Saturday night’s raid in the West Bank village of Assira Shamaliya “into something close to a national disaster,” military commentator Ron Ben-Ishai wrote in Monday’s Yediot Aharanot daily.
Top fugitive Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, who surrendered to Palestinian police, was recovering from bullet wounds at the Anglican Hospital in the West Bank town of Nablus.
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