First, the bomb plot according to the Israeli media:
ccording to the details released by the security service, the driver, a suicide bomber, had managed to cross into Israel in a vehicle laden with about 100 kilograms of explosives. However, once he reached Tel Aviv, and for reasons that are still unclear, he changed his mind and returned to Qalqilyah.
Nineteen members in the cell have been arrested by the security forces. No names of the suspects were released for publication.
Next, the bomb plot according to Palestinian “police” officers quoted by the AP:
Palestinian police officials in the town said the 19 suspects weren’t connected to any bombing. They said the militants were rounded up at a Hamas ceremony marking the third anniversary of the Israeli assassination of the group’s founder, Sheik Ahmed Yassin.
Police said the car held less than 2 pounds of explosives and that it was unlikely Hamas was connected because the bomb was so small. However, they said it remained unclear why the car was carrying explosives.
Last, a note: The AP actually quotes the Ha’aretz article, yet they find someone who denies all the facts of it. Oh, and this, too:
Hamas officials in Qalqiliya denied the account and said they were not involved in any plot.
Meantime, Ha’aretz, which is the newspaper most quoted by, and most loved by, the anti-Israel left, had this to say about Hamas:
This latest incident has further boosted the evidence that Hamas has resumed its terrorist activities following a long hiatus that began with the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip last November.
Egypt recently arrested a Hamas suicide bomber who was trying to cross from the Gaza Strip into Israel through Sinai.
Hamas militants were also involved in a number of sniper attacks targeting Israelis driving close to the fence separating Israel from the Gaza Strip. In one of the attacks, an Israel Electric Corporation employee was moderately wounded.
The man believed to be behind the attacks is Ahmed Jabari, the head of the military wing of Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip, who opposed the establishment of the unity government between his party and Fatah. Jabari is particularly dissatisfied with the fact that he and his men are not being awarded the positions of power they believe they deserve.
The degree to which Jabari and the Qalqilyah-based cell are linked is unclear. During the past two years, most of the Hamas cells operating in Samaria had followed orders originating in the Gaza Strip.
Funny, isn’t it, how Ha’aretz’s reporters can find plenty of evidence of Hamas terror attacks over the last two years, but the AP can find only denials that Hamas is involved in terrorism.
What anti-Israel bias? What are you talking about? Really, I don’t get the point.