Israelis capture top West Bank militant leader

The West Bank commander of the Hamas military wing surrendered to Israeli troops Tuesday after they surrounded his hideout and threatening to demolish it with him inside, witnesses said.

The fugitive, Ibrahim Hamed, emerged from the building before dawn and troops over loudspeaker told him to strip to his underwear, the witnesses said. Hamed complied, was cuffed and taken to a nearby building.

The army said Hamed, 41, masterminded attacks that killed more than 60 Israelis and wounded hundreds. Hamed has been on Israel's wanted list since 1998, frequently evading capture.

Before dawn Tuesday, a dozen jeeps and two armored personnel carriers surrounded his hideout, an apartment building in downtown Ramallah, just 200 meters from the home of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Area resident Mohammed Azzam, 48, said he watched the arrest from his balcony facing the two-story building where Hamed was holed up. The ground floor of the hideout consisted of shops with large iron doors. Two apartments were on the floor above.

Azzam said that at the start of the operation, an army bulldozer rammed the iron shop door. Over loudspeaker, troops then called out Hamed's name in accent-free Arabic. They told Hamed they would demolish the building with him inside if he didn't surrender, Azzam said.

Hamed emerged, wearing a light-colored shirt and gray pants. Following instructions over the loudspeaker, he took off his shirt and pants, then walked toward the soldiers in his underwear. Palestinian militants surrendering to troops are routinely asked to strip to make sure they don't carry explosives.

After the arrest, soldiers entered the building and blew out the doors and windows in the two apartments, as a robot searched for explosives. Troops removed clothes from the building, reports the AP.

I.L.

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