JERUSALEM — Israel's military has found an explosives laboratory operated by the Fatah movement and two
rockets in the West Bank city of Tulkarm.
The military reported the arrest
of two Fatah operatives — identified as Tahar Amar and Hassan Ufi — and
accused them of being responsible for the laboratory, Middle East Newsline reported.
"The Fatah people were financed by Hizbullah," a military source said.
The sources said Hizbullah supplied funds and directions for rocket
strikes against Israel.
The arrests took place on Sept. 1 by the Israel Security Agency and the
border police. The sources said the Fatah operatives were preparing to fire
two rockets into Israel.
Tulkarm, at the edge of the West Bank, is located about 13 kilometers
from Netanya, a major Israeli city. Tulkarm has been a haven for Fatah and
Islamic Jihad insurgents.
In July, a Fatah-financed cell was accused of attempting to fire rockets
from Tulkarm. One rocket was said to have exploded during launch.
In another operation, the Israel Air Force struck Al Atatra and Jabalya
in the northern Gaza Strip. The military said the targets were buildings
used for the storage of weaponry.
"Terrorist organizations operate from within the civilian population,
while cynically exploiting uninvolved civilians and using them as human
shields,
exploiting their homes to store weaponry and launching rockets at Israeli
towns from populated areas," the military said.
