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On March 10 2003, a hearing was held in the military court in Bet El regarding the indictment of Aslam Jabril, a ‘Red Crescent’ ambulance driver, who is charged with using ambulances to transport weapons to terrorist activists of the Al Assa Martyrs’ Brigades in Nablus and Ramallah. Among the weapons that the accused transported were guns and explosive belts which were intended for use in planned terror attacks. In order to disguise the contents of the ambulance, Jabril also transported a doctor and his brother’s wife and children, and drove to a checkpoint outside Ramallah where IDF forces stopped him. The accused pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him and was sentenced with up to four and a half years in prison and a suspended sentence. A black bag containing a gun (According to section 2-1 in the indictment) The accused was working as an ambulance driver for the Palestinian ‘Red Crescent’ at the end of August 2001 when he conducted a number of telephone conversations with Nadal Zahar also known as "Abu-Antar," a senior terrorist in the "Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade", the military wing of the of the Fatah-Tanzim. Abu-Antar asked the accused to transport "material" to Nablus and Ramallah. The accused immediately understood that the "material" in question was weapons designated for terrorist attacks. After a short time, Abu-Antar visited the home of the accused in Balata and asked if he was prepared to transport guns to Ramallah. The accused agreed and a few weeks latter, Abu-Antar brought over a black sack filled with guns in the middle of the night. The accused was instructed to pass the gun on to Mahmmud Yosef Adris Al Surqan, head of "Sheik Ziad" hospital in Ramallah and a resident of Al Birah. The accused was then requested by Adris to transport a letter and a large package which contained the dates and details of terror attacks executed by activists of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade. Inside one of the envelopes was the phrase "send grass for the lamb." The accused testified that he immediately understood that this was a code from Adris requesting weapons or ammunition from Abu-Antar. An Explosive Belt Hidden in an Ambulance. On March 26, 2002, the accused spoke to Abu-Antar on the phone and agreed to use his ambulance to transport an explosive belt to Ramallah. Abu-Antar arrived at the home of the accused in Balata with Muhammud Titi, another terrorist in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade and another man who waited with a car. The accused said he did not work during the evening and Abu-Antar offered to pay him for his services. During the night, the accused hid a package containing an explosive belt under the stairs in his living room. In the early hours of the morning, the accused opened the package and discovered that it was a bomb attached to ten plastic bottles. In order to safely transfer the explosive belt, he called his manager and requested to transport his allegedly sick sister- in-law and her son from Nablus to the hospital in Ramallah. The accused promised the manager that he would reimburse any expenses when he returned from Ramallah. IDF forces detain the ambulance while transporting arms to terrorist organization in Ramallah The accused placed the explosive belt under the stretcher in the ambulance and a battery on the ambulance monitor. Afterwards he picked up Dr. Assan, a dentist who had requested to accompany the accused on his trip to Ramallah. The accused also picked up his sister-in-law and her children. Together they drove towards Ramallah in the ambulance. The accused succeeded in crossing the Harrah checkpoint but was stopped at the military checkpoint next to the Rama Bridge when the explosive belt was discovered by IDF soldiers. The belt was detonated by the IDF forces. Source: IDF |
