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Is Israel Winning the War on Suicide Bombers?
(Jerusalem Post) Arieh O'Sullivan - Every night, soldiers and Shin Bet agents round up suspected Palestinian terrorists and fugitives in the West Bank in a quiet but effective crushing of terrorism. Intelligence from interrogations of detained Palestinians is key to thwarting attacks. There were three major suicide bombings inside Israel in the first five months of 2004 that killed 28 and wounded 120 people. In comparison, in the first six months of last year, six suicide bombings killed 54 people and wounded over 300. In 2003, there was a total of 23 suicide bombings that killed over 180 people. Security officials say they have successfully intercepted and prevented 60 suicide attacks so far this year. Most of these were planned by Tanzim terrorists and not Hamas. The main factor in the decline of Hamas's capability is the killing and capture of their leadership. Only one senior West Bank Hamas figure, Ibrahim Hamad who is the commander in the Ramallah area, is still at large. Others have fled and are believed to be in Syria.