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(The Independent Article: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/...p?story=402356 )
to apolyton.I'll just post the articles and that's it.
Several sightings of fugitive Brit bomber in south Tel Aviv
By Amos Harel, Roni Singer, and Sharon Sadeh, Haaretz Correspondents
Security forces continued Friday receive alerts from local residents who say that they may have spotted Omar Khan Sharif, the British partner of the suicide bomber who blew himself up early Thursday morning at the entrance to a Tel Aviv beachfront pub.
Sharif managed to flee the scene of the bombing, evading security personnel and civilians who tried to stop him, after his explosive device malfunctioned. Eyewitness accounts and police intelligence indicate that he fled in the direction of south Tel Aviv. Police believe he is hiding out during daylight hours and continues to flee under cover of darkness.
In the immediate aftermath of the bombing, the searched focussed on the Neveh Tzedek neighborhood, but have now spread to all adjacent areas.
According to reports in the British media on Friday, the two men involved in the suicide bombing late Tuesday night at Mike's place, on the Tel Aviv beachfront promenade, had posed as peace activists in the Gaza Strip, and took part in actions carried out other activists in the strip.
The Independent reported that the two entered Israel hours before the attack took place, and the cab in which they were traveling passed through the Erez Crossing.
Two days after the attack, in which three people were killed, the Shin Bet security service, police, and Israel Defense Forces are investigating how the bombers were able to carry out the attack. Security sources admitted Thursday that, "the attack could have been prevented."
The defense establishment will investigate how the two British bombers - Asif Mohammed Hanif, Omar Khan Sharif - were able to evade security officials. Apparently, the fault lies in standard procedures practiced at entrances to Israel, as well as in the methods used to transfer intelligence information and warnings from security officials to international border crossings in Israel and Ben-Gurion International Airport.
According to suspicions, the two men traveled from Israel to the Gaza Strip and back. One of the questions that the investigation will focus on is whether the fact that the two were Muslim, entered Israel at a specific time period, and traveled from Israel to the territories should have alerted security forces and justified keeping track of their whereabouts.
Investigators are also trying to ascertain if the two transferred their explosives belts into Israel from the Gaza Strip, or were given the explosives belts once they were already inside Israel.
According to reports from London, British security and intelligence services might appeal to Damascus for clarification on what the two bombers had done in Damascus. Scotland Yard investigators and police officers on Thursday visited the homes in England where the two resided, and questioned family members. According to the questioning, the two had been in Syria in recent months
British sources predicted that an organization such as Hezbollah or an Al-Qaida branch are responsible for the attack. British intelligence services have vowed to support Israel in the fight again the perpetrators, and the British security establishment is working with Israel in investigating the incident.
We utterly condemn terror in all its forms," said British Ambassador to Israel Sherard Cowper-Coles as he laid a wreath at the site of the attack. "There is and will be total cooperation between British security intelligence services and Israeli services. We will work fully to do all we can do bring those responsible for this terrible atrocity to justice."
A British Foreign Office spokesman said the UK was in close contact with Israel on security matters, condemned all terrorist attacks, and would give the Israelis any assistance requested. British Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien told BBC television Thursday that the British government would cooperate fully with Israel to establish who the bombers were.
The families of the terrorists claimed Thursday that they were unaware of the actions taken by the two bombers.
By Amos Harel, Roni Singer, and Sharon Sadeh, Haaretz Correspondents
Security forces continued Friday receive alerts from local residents who say that they may have spotted Omar Khan Sharif, the British partner of the suicide bomber who blew himself up early Thursday morning at the entrance to a Tel Aviv beachfront pub.
Sharif managed to flee the scene of the bombing, evading security personnel and civilians who tried to stop him, after his explosive device malfunctioned. Eyewitness accounts and police intelligence indicate that he fled in the direction of south Tel Aviv. Police believe he is hiding out during daylight hours and continues to flee under cover of darkness.
In the immediate aftermath of the bombing, the searched focussed on the Neveh Tzedek neighborhood, but have now spread to all adjacent areas.
According to reports in the British media on Friday, the two men involved in the suicide bombing late Tuesday night at Mike's place, on the Tel Aviv beachfront promenade, had posed as peace activists in the Gaza Strip, and took part in actions carried out other activists in the strip.
The Independent reported that the two entered Israel hours before the attack took place, and the cab in which they were traveling passed through the Erez Crossing.
Two days after the attack, in which three people were killed, the Shin Bet security service, police, and Israel Defense Forces are investigating how the bombers were able to carry out the attack. Security sources admitted Thursday that, "the attack could have been prevented."
The defense establishment will investigate how the two British bombers - Asif Mohammed Hanif, Omar Khan Sharif - were able to evade security officials. Apparently, the fault lies in standard procedures practiced at entrances to Israel, as well as in the methods used to transfer intelligence information and warnings from security officials to international border crossings in Israel and Ben-Gurion International Airport.
According to suspicions, the two men traveled from Israel to the Gaza Strip and back. One of the questions that the investigation will focus on is whether the fact that the two were Muslim, entered Israel at a specific time period, and traveled from Israel to the territories should have alerted security forces and justified keeping track of their whereabouts.
Investigators are also trying to ascertain if the two transferred their explosives belts into Israel from the Gaza Strip, or were given the explosives belts once they were already inside Israel.
According to reports from London, British security and intelligence services might appeal to Damascus for clarification on what the two bombers had done in Damascus. Scotland Yard investigators and police officers on Thursday visited the homes in England where the two resided, and questioned family members. According to the questioning, the two had been in Syria in recent months
British sources predicted that an organization such as Hezbollah or an Al-Qaida branch are responsible for the attack. British intelligence services have vowed to support Israel in the fight again the perpetrators, and the British security establishment is working with Israel in investigating the incident.
We utterly condemn terror in all its forms," said British Ambassador to Israel Sherard Cowper-Coles as he laid a wreath at the site of the attack. "There is and will be total cooperation between British security intelligence services and Israeli services. We will work fully to do all we can do bring those responsible for this terrible atrocity to justice."
A British Foreign Office spokesman said the UK was in close contact with Israel on security matters, condemned all terrorist attacks, and would give the Israelis any assistance requested. British Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien told BBC television Thursday that the British government would cooperate fully with Israel to establish who the bombers were.
The families of the terrorists claimed Thursday that they were unaware of the actions taken by the two bombers.
(The Independent Article: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/...p?story=402356 )
Israel to bar pro-Palestinian activists from entering country
By Amos Harel and Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies
Israel will from now on bar pro-Palestinian activists from entering the country and will try to expel at least some of the dozens of activists who are already here, according a new plan drafted by the Israel Defense Forces and the foreign and defense ministries.
Most of the activists, who come from Europe, Canada and the United States, belong to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
Their goal is to act as "human shields" for Palestinian individuals and houses during IDF incursions into Palestinian towns, and they have often been involved in confrontations with IDF soldiers. They also try to help Palestinians pass through IDF roadblocks.
Some two months ago, an American ISM activist, Rachel Corrie, was run over and killed by an IDF bulldozer in Gaza. Her colleagues accused the bulldozer driver of having run her over deliberately. The IDF denies the accusation and decided not to indict the driver. In two other recent cases, international activists have been seriously injured by IDF gunfire during confrontations in the territories.
Israel Radio on Friday quoted British news agencies as saying that the two men involved in the suicide bombing at Mike's Place in Tel Aviv late Tuesday night had entered Israel earlier in the day in a cab that passed through the Erez Crossing. The two had taken part in actions carried out by peace activists in the Gaza Strip.
In the first sign of the new crackdown, a member of ISM was detained by Israeli troops in the southern Gaza refugee camp Rafah on Thursday.
Military sources said the woman activist was sleeping in a house suspected of concealing one of the tunnels used by militants to smuggle arms from nearby Egypt, and her case was being handled by the Foreign Ministry.
Foreign Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment and the ISM said it would release a statement later in the day on the new Israeli measures.
IDF accuses 'riot inciters'
The IDF charges that many of the self-proclaimed peace activists are "provocateurs" and "riot inciters" who deliberately interfere with the IDF's work, with the goal of blackening Israel's image. Army sources noted that in one case, they discovered a wanted terrorist being hidden by ISM activists in Jenin. The sources said the activists received training overseas in how to deceive border control officials at Ben-Gurion International Airport in order to be allowed into the country.
Furthermore, both the army and the Foreign Ministry fear that additional foreign citizens might be killed or wounded by the IDF if the ISM's activities are allowed to continue.
Wednesday's bombing in Tel Aviv, which was committed by two men who entered Israel on British passports, added a new reason to the authorities' desire to clamp down on the foreign activists - fear that other terrorists from overseas might enter the country under the guise of peace activists.
IDF and Foreign Ministry officials held another meeting on the subject this week and decided to instruct border control officials at Ben-Gurion and the land crossings with Egypt and Jordan to bar foreign activists from entering the country. In addition, IDF officers who encounter such activists in closed military areas will be ordered to arrest them, after which they will be deported.
On Thursday, the IDF arrested a foreign activist during its search for arms smuggling tunnels in the Gazan town of Rafah. Army sources said the woman was inside a house that was slated for demolition. The woman was later released and allowed to remain in the country, though she was barred from returning to Gaza.
By Amos Harel and Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies
Israel will from now on bar pro-Palestinian activists from entering the country and will try to expel at least some of the dozens of activists who are already here, according a new plan drafted by the Israel Defense Forces and the foreign and defense ministries.
Most of the activists, who come from Europe, Canada and the United States, belong to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
Their goal is to act as "human shields" for Palestinian individuals and houses during IDF incursions into Palestinian towns, and they have often been involved in confrontations with IDF soldiers. They also try to help Palestinians pass through IDF roadblocks.
Some two months ago, an American ISM activist, Rachel Corrie, was run over and killed by an IDF bulldozer in Gaza. Her colleagues accused the bulldozer driver of having run her over deliberately. The IDF denies the accusation and decided not to indict the driver. In two other recent cases, international activists have been seriously injured by IDF gunfire during confrontations in the territories.
Israel Radio on Friday quoted British news agencies as saying that the two men involved in the suicide bombing at Mike's Place in Tel Aviv late Tuesday night had entered Israel earlier in the day in a cab that passed through the Erez Crossing. The two had taken part in actions carried out by peace activists in the Gaza Strip.
In the first sign of the new crackdown, a member of ISM was detained by Israeli troops in the southern Gaza refugee camp Rafah on Thursday.
Military sources said the woman activist was sleeping in a house suspected of concealing one of the tunnels used by militants to smuggle arms from nearby Egypt, and her case was being handled by the Foreign Ministry.
Foreign Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment and the ISM said it would release a statement later in the day on the new Israeli measures.
IDF accuses 'riot inciters'
The IDF charges that many of the self-proclaimed peace activists are "provocateurs" and "riot inciters" who deliberately interfere with the IDF's work, with the goal of blackening Israel's image. Army sources noted that in one case, they discovered a wanted terrorist being hidden by ISM activists in Jenin. The sources said the activists received training overseas in how to deceive border control officials at Ben-Gurion International Airport in order to be allowed into the country.
Furthermore, both the army and the Foreign Ministry fear that additional foreign citizens might be killed or wounded by the IDF if the ISM's activities are allowed to continue.
Wednesday's bombing in Tel Aviv, which was committed by two men who entered Israel on British passports, added a new reason to the authorities' desire to clamp down on the foreign activists - fear that other terrorists from overseas might enter the country under the guise of peace activists.
IDF and Foreign Ministry officials held another meeting on the subject this week and decided to instruct border control officials at Ben-Gurion and the land crossings with Egypt and Jordan to bar foreign activists from entering the country. In addition, IDF officers who encounter such activists in closed military areas will be ordered to arrest them, after which they will be deported.
On Thursday, the IDF arrested a foreign activist during its search for arms smuggling tunnels in the Gazan town of Rafah. Army sources said the woman was inside a house that was slated for demolition. The woman was later released and allowed to remain in the country, though she was barred from returning to Gaza.
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