The Israel Security Agency (ISA) and the Jerusalem Police announced yesterday the recent arrest of two members of a terrorist cell suspected of assassinating Tourism Minister Rechavam Ze'evi last week. The announcement came in the midst of an Israeli military action in the West Bank village of Beit Rima, allegedly the base for the PFLP terrorists responsible for the murder. The assassin, whose identity was publicized yesterday, is still at large.

IDF forces withdrew overnight from Beit Rima, northwest of Ramallah, after a 24-hour operation. Nahal Brigade Commander Colonel Yair Brantis confirmed in a briefing that Ze'evi's killers had been from the village. Security forces made at least 10 arrests during the operation, but it was reported that the alleged assassin of Ze'evi, Hamdi Ahmed Koraan, was not among them. Koraan's brother was reportedly among the militants arrested, according to media reports.

According to information made public yesterday for the

"We have recently arrested a number of suspects in connection with the assassination of the late Minister Rechavam Ze'evi" - official police statement

first time, the two Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) officials who orchestrated Ze'evi's assassination were Ahmed Saadat, appointed secretary general of the organization after the Israeli missile strike that killed Abu Ali Mustafa on August 27, and Ahed Awalmeh, head of the PFLP's military wing. The two reportedly enlisted Majdi Rimawi, a resident of Beit Rima, who then recruited the murder gang.

The PFLP cell allegedly responsible for the assassination was composed of Koraan, a resident of El Bireh, Basel a-Rahman el Asmer, also of El Bireh, Mahmed Fahmi Rimawi of Beit Rima and Salah Allawi, a resident of El-Azariya. According to media reports, a number of informants were also recruited to provide information on Ze'evi's daily routine, especially during his frequent lodging at Jerusalem's Hyatt Hotel.

The arrest and questioning of Allawi and Mahmed Rimawi, reportedly made the day after the murder, enabled police to crack the case and initiated the search for the other cell members. Media reports indicate that Majdi Rimawi has also been arrested.

Cell members enjoy hotel facilities before assassination
The cell members allegedly rented a commercial vehicle that was to be used as the getaway vehicle after the assassination, equipped themselves with a Scorpion sub-machinegun and pistols with silencers. Mahmed Rimawi was selected to serve as the getaway driver. He was armed and ready to provide covering fire if necessary.

The day before the assassination, Koraan booked a room in the Hyatt using forged documents, according to the official police statement. Yediot Aharonot reported, however, that Koraan and Asmer originally checked into the hotel two days before, renting a room on the third floor and then changing to a fifth floor room the next day.

According to Yediot Aharonot, the assailants reportedly allowed themselves to enjoy the hotel's facilities in the two days preceding the murder. They went down to the health club, where they were told that they had to pay an extra fee to use the spa. After an argument, the two men left without entering. This argument later led to the identification of the murderers, Yediot Aharonot reported.

The assailants continued to walk around the hotel, and that evening they reportedly invited a call girl to their room. Maariv reported that the girl was Jewish, and was acquainted with the two men due to their involvement in drug deals in the past.

On the morning of the murder, Koraan spotted Ze'evi in the hotel's dining room, apparently leading the minister to remark to his wife that an Arab was eyeing him suspiciously. Koraan then went up to the eighth floor and waited for Ze'evi.

Minutes later, as Ze'evi was opening his door with a magnetic key, Koraan called out to him by name. Ze'evi turned to look at him, and Koraan fired at him at close range. Two bullets struck the minister in the head, and a third shot apparently missed altogether. After Koraan saw Ze'evi fall to the floor, bleeding and mortally wounded, he turned and escaped down the emergency staircase to Rimawi and the vehicle in the hotel's underground parking lot.

Rimawi reportedly told police that Asmer was standing a few meters behind Koraan at the time of the assassination and saw the entire attack.

Cigarette butts, problems with getaway car help police break case
Maariv reported that Koraan and Asmer smoked heavily as they waited for Ze'evi to come to his room. An ashtray filled with cigarette butts and fingerprints at the scene reportedly aided the police in cracking the case.

Yediot Aharonot reported that two vehicles had been rented for the assassination mission. A Fiat Punto was to serve the two murderers, while a Kia was rented for Mahmed Rimawi, to be used as a rescue and security vehicle. The paper reported that after the assassination, Rimawi was unable to start the Kia, and therefore took a taxi to Allawi's home in El-Azariya, the "safe house," arriving after the others.

Based on initial leads in the case, Israeli security forces staged a raid on El-Azariya on the night of the assassination. Allawi was arrested, but Koraan and Asmer managed to flee to Palestinian-controlled territories, where they are still at large. Their names were reportedly given to Palestinian authorities the next day. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced this week that a Palestinian officer assisted the two in their escape.

The information released yesterday by the ISA and the police lifted suspicion from the possible involvement of Hyatt Hotel workers, many of them Arabs from East Jerusalem, in Ze'evi's assassination.

According to the official announcement, a Scorpion machine gun, two silencers and a pistol were seized during the arrests of Allawi and Mahmed Rimawi. Yediot Aharonot reported that Rimawi left his machine gun in the Kia in the hotel's parking lot. Forensic tests revealed that the pistol confiscated by police was not the one used in Ze'evi's assassination.

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