Mahmoud Tawalbe

Who was Mahmoud Tawalbe?

Mahmoud Tawalbe was the head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Jenin, one of the main stronghold of the Islamist organization.

Tawalbe was involved in many attacks against Israelis but he was best known for being the leader of the Palestinian militants in Jenin during the Battle of Jenin, part of Israel's 2002 Operation Defensive Shield.

The Israeli authorities had 23-year-old Mahmoud Tawalbe, a father of two who worked in a record store but also headed the local Palestinian Islamic Jihad cell, at the top of their "wanted" list. Tawalbe was responsible for numerous attacks against Israelis, including an October 2001 shooting on the main street of Hadera, north of Tel Aviv, which killed four women. Tawalbe had dispatched his 19-year-old brother Murad on a suicide attack to Haifa in July of that year, though Murad lost his nerve and surrendered to Israel Police. Other top Islamic Jihad targets in Jenin included Thabet Mardawi, behind a March 20 suicide bomb that killed seven Israelis on a bus, and Ali Suleiman al-Saadi, known as Safouri, who had planned a November shooting that killed two Israelis.

Tawalbe was one of the commanders in the battle over Jenin. Tawalbe ordered to booby trap the entire camp in order to kill as many Israeli soldiers as possible. Even children took part in the bomb-making efforts.