Tuesday, Israeli troops arrested Sheikh Ibrahim Hamid, leader of Iz Ed Deen Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and “number 1” wanted fighter in the occupied West Bank, Israeli army source reported.
An Israeli military spokesperson reported that Hamid, 41, has been wanted since 1998 for attacks that claimed the lives of 78 of Israeli civilians and soldiers, according to the source.
The source stated that the military intelligence was tipped on the location of Hamid’s hide out in Al Baloa’ neighborhood in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Also, the Israeli security claims that Hamid was planning further attacks against Israeli targets especially against fuel gathering compounds, railways and constructions in Israel.
A combined military force of the army, Shin Bet security service, the police and the so called “anti-terror” unit carried the arrest attack.
After surrounding the home where Hamid was hiding and firing rounds of live ammunition at it, soldiers used loud speakers to call him out while a military bulldozer moved towards the house in an attempt to level it while residents and Hamid where inside. Hamid went out of the house raising his hands over his head.
Eyewitness Mohammed Azzam, 48, reported he watched the arrest from his balcony facing the two-story building where Hamid was hiding.
The ground floor of the house consisted of shops with large iron doors, and two apartments were on the floor above.
Azzam added that at the start of the operation, a military bulldozer drove against the iron shop door before the soldiers used a loudspeaker to called out Hamid’s name in accent-free Arabic.
“The soldiers told Hamid they would demolish the building with him inside if he didn’t surrender”, Azzam added.
Israeli online daily Haaretz reported Hamid went out of the house wearing a light-colored shirt and gray pants.
Haaretz added that Hamid, following instructions over the loudspeaker, took off his shirt and pants, then walked toward the soldiers in his underwear.
After the arrest, soldiers broke into the building and blew out the doors and windows in the two apartments, as a robot searched for explosives but none was found.
The Israeli security managed to expose the hideout of Hamid after interrogating several members of Hamas’ military wing during previous invasions, Haaretz said.
