The Search for the Terrorists

The usually busy intersection near the agricultural school of Hayarok, just north of Tel Aviv, was today almost as quiet as on Yom Kippur. The few vehicles on the road were mostly military or police cars rushing from one end of the curfewed area to another. Few pedestrians were on the road, with most of the neighborhood residents preferring the safety of their homes. The outdoors presented one big threatening question mark.

Teams of policemen were directing the traffic, blocking the main northern entrance to Tel Aviv. Despite the absence of sirens and other wartime phenomena, there was a definite air of war. Standing at one intersection, one could almost smell in the air that “something” was going on, only nobody knew exactly where and when.

This feeling was given substance by an army unit composed of young soldiers, some of whom were apparently just taken out of basic training. The soldiers got off a big truck by the side of the road and slowly marched toward a large orchard nearby. Now it was like war, but not quite.

But the army took its job seriously. The soldiers covered the area inch by inch, foot by foot. The target was simple: to make sure that every possible hideout for the terrorists was checked. The main Tel Aviv-Haifa highway was closed to traffic. Cars going to and from Haifa were diverted to the old Haifa road which was the eastern boundary of the curfew area.

At one of those intersections a number of officers planned their next moves. They knew, no doubt, that they were planning a shot in the dark–but they knew just the same that they had no choice but to try their luck. “They (the terrorists) can be anywhere,” said one senior officer. “They may be on their way to the West Bank, but they may also be around us, wearing civilian clothes or preparing themselves for a suicide attack.”

As the officer handed his soldiers the next assignment, a helicopter nearby was preparing to take off. Helicopters were used throughout the day to try and spot the terrorists and at the same time as a potential initial striking force. Helicopters swept the curfewed area time and again, but to no avail.

In the absence of substantial information, rumors flourished. Suddenly a rumor passed among the few who dared leave their houses that there was an exchange of fire near one of the intersections. It turned out to be just the sound of the helicopters’ rotary blades. But this, of course, did not prevent officers from rushing to the scene for fear they might miss something. By this afternoon there was a general feeling of tiredness among the soldiers.

The feeling that the terrorists were already for away from the scene of the crime could not be helped. Tired soldiers lay by the side of the road, waiting for the next assignment–and the helicopter was heating up its engine for another attempt to hit the terrorists. The largest manhunt ever in Israel was at its peak. By late tonight the manhunt was called off and the curfew lifted when it was ascertained that the missing three terrorists were among the dead in the bus.