Word: waxman
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...morning the Israelis received intelligence that the captive was in a house in Bir-Nabala, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, just three miles north of his parents' home in Ramot, a Jerusalem suburb. Throughout the day, Rabin said later, the Israelis considered a tentative Hamas proposal to exchange Waxman for Sheik Yassin, whom the government has considered freeing anyway because of his failing health. According to Rabin, the offer was never made firm by Hamas, but the militants did agree to extend their deadline by 24 hours...
...expire, Israeli special forces attacked the house in Bir-Nabala, blowing open the doors with explosives and charging inside. One Israeli soldier died in the fire fight and 12 were injured. Three kidnappers were killed and another was captured, along with an alleged accessory. According to Israeli officials, Waxman was found inside the house, bound in chains and shot by his captors at point-blank range in the neck and chest. Army sources believe Waxman was executed during the siege or just before, perhaps after the gunmen saw the special forces approach...
...ministers acknowledge that the Palestinian authority could do more to rein in Hamas. Said one: "We have functioned in a way that gives the Israelis a reason not to trust us and Hamas no reason to fear us." Still, the failure of Israel's efforts to save Waxman underscores how difficult that chore is. Despite its superior firepower, an extensive intelligence network and a willingness to use draconian measures, the Israeli army was never able to subdue Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Now it expects Arafat's far less sophisticated force to achieve that goal...
Nevertheless, though the drama ended fatally for Waxman, the story's other hostage -- the delicate negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians -- may yet survive. In the end, Rabin's test for Arafat did not materialize: Waxman had not been imprisoned within the Gaza Strip. In the aftermath of the saga, progress toward a full peace may be slowed as Israel insists that Arafat crack down generally on Palestinian extremists. The process was shaken, but, despite the tragedy, it was no longer imperiled. At least until the next test comes...
...grim challenge to the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords ended in bloodshed with the death of hostage Nahshon Waxman, a 19-year-old Israeli soldier who was being held by members of the radical Palestinian group Hamas. Waxman, another Israeli soldier and three of the captors were killed during a rescue attempt by Israeli commandos, which came an hour before the expiration of the militants' original deadline for sparing Waxman's life. Under pressure from both Israel and the U.S., P.L.O. chairman Yasser Arafat's security forces had arrested some 300 alleged Hamas activists in the Gaza Strip in a vain...