RAMALLAH — A Palestinian insurgent has used a Western-sponsored
university as the base for his activities in the West Bank.
Israeli security sources said an Islamic Jihad insurgent converted the
Arab-American University in Zebabda into his base of operations. The sources
said the insurgent planned suicide bombings inside Israel from the
university's dormitories, located outside Jenin.
The insurgent was identified as Ashraf Mahmoud Husseini Awidat, 19.
Awidat was identified as the deputy to Jihad commander in Jenin, Iyad Abu Al
Roub. Al Roub was captured in November 2005.
[On Thursday, Israel and Palestinian gunners exchanged artillery and
rocket fire. Israel Air Force helicopters fired on roads used by Palestinian
gunners to reach launching pads in the central and northern Gaza Strip.]
The sources said Israeli intelligence agents and special troops raided
the private university in Jenin in early December and arrested Awidat. They
said Awidat had sought to conduct an imminent suicide attack against an
Israeli
target.
The Arab-American University was founded in 1995 as the first private
university in the West Bank. The university implements an American education
system in affiliation with California State University, Stanislaus, and Utah
State University.
Awidat was said to have used the university to recruit students to Jihad
insurgency cells. The sources said he also sought to employ students for
suicide bombings.
The sources said Awidat was believed to have been involved in the
suicide bombing in Hadera on Oct. 26. Six Israeli civilians were killed and
dozens were injured in the Jihad bombing of a market in the city.
On Nov. 29, the Israel Security Agency reported a Hamas network that
allocated money from charities in Europe and the United States for
insurgency activities in Jenin. The ISA identified the Hamas representative
in Jenin as Ahmed Saltana, said to have relayed funding to insurgents and
prisoners.
