debkafile Reports: First Eilat suicide bombing killing 3 Israelis feared start of deadly wave funded from Tehran and Damascus
The bomber, Mohamed Faisal al-Siksik, 21, from Gaza, blew himself up in a bakery in the Red Sea resort of Eilat Monday, Jan. 29, killing the two proprietors, Michael Ben Sadon, 27, and Emil Almaliach, 32, and Israel Samoliya, 26. This was the first such attack the holiday paradise has ever experienced. debkafile‘s counter-terror sources report that the next wave of suicide attacks is expected to be mounted from Gaza and Sinai by the Palestinian Jihad Islami in conjunction with local al Qaeda cells with funding from Tehran and Damascus.
Although two Palestinian groups – Jihad Islami and Fatah-al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades claimed the attack, debkafile‘s counter-terror sources disclosed it was in fact the first joint operation of the third group, the Army of Believers – an al Qaeda cover name – and Jihad Islami of the new anti-Israel terror offensive.
A senior Israeli officer familiar with the Israeli-Egyptian Sinai border region told debkafile after the Eilat attack: “Olmert and Peretz have missed the train. Their policy of military restraint in the face of Qassam missile attacks and a terrorist build-up has given the most violent elements free rein to get set for a fresh, well-organized assault.” Some attacks may also come from the sea.
He stressed: “It’s no use expecting the Egyptians to secure the Sinai border. Since Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip 15 months ago, the Egyptian-Gazan-Israeli borders are a highway for smugglers of terrorists, missiles, explosives and traffickers of every kind. The IDF is the only force capable of putting a stop to this traffic and suppressing the collaboration between Hamas, Jihad Islami, Fatah-al Aqsa Brigades and al Qaeda. Unfortunately, its hands are tied by the government.”
Two months ago, debkafile‘s political sources disclose, the government was warned that a Jihad Islami team had crossed in o Sinai and hooked up with an al Qaeda cell. This joint network very likely prepared the bomb for the bomber Siksik and guided him across the border to Eilat.
Saturday, a 17-year old from Alexandria, where an al Qaeda cell is believed located, was apprehended in Sinai heading for an attack in Israel.
The explosive charge the Eilat bomber carried was packed with up to 8 kilos of explosives, but no shrapnel fragments. In its Sinai attacks, Al Qaeda has used large bombs consisting of explosives but no shrapnel, whereas Palestinian terrorists habitually lace their bombs with steel shards to maximize casualties.
The last suicide attack in Israel was carried out in a Tel Aviv pizza parlor and killed 11 people.