The West Bank commander of Hamas (believed responsible for the deaths of 78 civilians and soldiers) surrendered to Israeli troops before dawn Tuesday after they surrounded his house in downtown Ramallah and brought in a bulldozer to destroy it with him inside.
Ibrahim Hamed, 41, had been on Israel’s wanted list since 1998 and was sought for masterminding suicide bombings at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Moment coffee house near the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem, and a double suicide bombing in Jerusalem’s Ben Yehuda mall in 2001.
Hamed refused to surrender even when troops opened fire on the building. It was only when the bulldozer began to push against the walls of the structure that Hamed emerged. He was ordered to strip to his underwear to make sure he was not concealing any explosives before he was arrested.
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