A top Islamic Jihad militant surrendered to Israeli soldiers early Thursday, witnesses said, after a daylong siege during which army bulldozers knocked down the four-story house where he was hiding.
"You'll never take me alive, coppers!"
"Moshe! Drop the house!"
"I give up!" | Dozens of troops surrounded the building in the town of Jenin in the hunt for Iyad Abu Rob. Witnesses said Abu Rob, a senior commander of Islamic Jihad in the northern West Bank, emerged from the wrecked house after midnight and was taken away by soldiers along with one of his aides.
On Wednesday, more than 70 army jeeps and 25 armored personnel carriers entered Jenin, and troops announced a curfew over loudspeakers as part of an arrest raid, residents said. Several armored personnel carriers surrounded the building where Abu Rob was believed to be hiding, and snipers took up positions on nearby roofs. The Israeli army said it was conducting an arrest operation in Jenin, but would not give further details. |