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IDF Arrests Hillel Cafe Terrorist 
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu     Adar 28, 5770 / March 14, '10  

  http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/136493

(IsraelNN.com) The IDF on Saturday night caught the Hamas terrorist responsible for murdering 70 Israelis, including Dr. David Applebaum and his bride-to-be daughter in the Cafe Hillel suicide bombing in 2003 in Jerusalem.

The arrest was made in a rare incursion into Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority is committed to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure. PA security forces previously released the terrorist, Maher U’dda, although he was a senior terrorist on Israel’s wanted list.

Backed by pinpoint intelligence, security forces arrested U'dda, a Hamas operative wanted since the end of the last decade for his involvement in terrorism against Israeli civilians. He was one of the founders of Hamas in Ramallah, where he formed a Hamas cell that abducted and interrogated Arabs suspected of cooperating with Israel. The cell also demanded Arab held weapons in return for releasing those abducted, which in turn were used to execute terrorist attacks.

He held a managerial role in organizing and funding a Hamas military cell that was responsible for the murder of 10 Israeli civilians. Hamas terrorist headquarters in Ramallah have been responsible for murdering more than 70 Israelis, including the seven victims on the Cafe Hillel suicide bombing. Clickhere for YouTube video showing scenes of the aftermath of the attack and a memoriam for the victims.  

Among the victims were Dr. Applebaum and his daughter Nava, who was to be married the next night. Her wedding dress is on display at Rachel's Tomb. Her American-born father was the head of the emergency room at Shaarei Tzedek Medical Center in Jerusalem and founder of Terem, the first network of emergency medical service clinics in Israel in addition to the  Red Magen David..  

Earlier on the day of the attack, Dr. Applebaum had returned from New York, where he lectured at a September 11 commemorative conference on how hospitals should deal with mass casualties.

Later this week, Chanan Sand, who was Nava's fiance, is to marry.