“The hero of Karmi Tsur operation: Sheltered mujahideen and resisted the occupation for 13 years without tiring till he won the valuable prize”

 

Name: Ahmad Badawi Khaliel El-Masalama

Nickname: Abu Yehya

Birth date: 26 Jun 1967

Martyrdom date: 8 June 2002

Hometown: Beit Awwa village (near Al-Khalil)

Residence: Dura (near Al-Khalil)

 

“Forgive me Um Yehya. You endured much for my sake. I’ll ask Allah Almighty on the Day of Judgment to make you a queen over the maidens in paradise. Please raise our children on the love of jihad and martyrdom. I’m waiting for you in Paradise.”

 

These were the words of farewell Ahmad El-Masalma (Abu Yehya) sent to his wife. And to his daughter Fatima he delivered this message:

 

“I write you these words to stay with you forever; and so as not to forget these words issuing from the depth of a loving father who loves for you happiness in this life and in the hereafter. These aren’t passing words. You must understand them and imprint them in your conscience till your life’s end.

 

I advise you to fear Allah and to be obedient to your mother for the pleasure of Allah. I wish you success in your studies all the time, so as to build a bright future. I pray to Allah to provide you with a good husband, to make you happy and help you overcome the obstacles of this life and in order for us to meet in the highest place of Paradise and rejoice in eternal happiness. Paradise is the eternal abode and this life is a fading dwelling.

 

I advise you to uphold the prayers in their time, and to maintain good morals and ethics with your teachers and pious friends from among the believers. I want you to choose friends to have good morals. And you are at the best of my expectations and those of the pious.

 

I advise you lower your gaze everywhere outside the home in order to attain the acceptance of Allah. I advise you to be clean and to do your best not to leave the house without one of your brothers when you aren’t married. And when, God-willing, you are married, please be obedient to your husband.

 

I ask you to be a carrier of good knowledge for Muslim society, to nurture generations who are knowledgeable in the Book of Allah and the traditions of His prophet.

 

Do this in order to be obedient to Allah, His prophet and your dear father and mother. I wish you a bright future in this life. And I pray to the Great Allah to grant you happiness and success in this life and in the Hereafter.”

 

Fatima said that she was happy when she learned of her father’s martyrdom. She knew that was in paradise and would endorse 70 of his family members to enter paradise. She cried after her father’s martyrdom only when she saw her grandmother cry. At that moment, she felt the emotions of a mother.

 

Background:

Ahmad Badawi El-Masalma was born in the village of Beit Awwa (9 km southwest of Al-Khalil) on 27 June 1967. He had 4 brothers and 3 sisters. He was married in June 1985, and attained martyrdom in June 2002. The month of June was the month of happiness in Ahmad’s life: his birth was a celebration, his marriage was a celebration, and his martyrdom was an eternal celebration.

 

Ahmad was a trader in used furniture in Beit Awwa before moving to live in town of Dura, also near Al-Khalil. He had 7 children: Yehya, Mohammad, Hamza, Abdel Muh’yie, Musab, Ayna, and Fatima.

 

Jihad:

Abu Yehya is the embodiment of the determined drive to resist the occupation and cleansing the land of its darkness. He joined the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in 1989. And to cover his resistance activities, he joined an Islamic propagation group not affiliated with Hamas. He started to his journey with Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades in the early 1990’s, shortly after the establishment of the Brigades.

 

From 1992 till 1995, Aby Yehya was charged with providing safe houses for wanted members of Al-Qassam Brigades. Some of them were Taher Qufeisha, Jihad Ghalama and Hamed Yaghmour. Helping Ahmad in this mission were martyrs Abdel-Karim El-Masalma and Saliem El-Masalma.

 

Heroism:

Abu Yehya was imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority in Al-Thahere’ya prison for years under the charge of killing a traitor working for the occupation’s security apparatus. However, his family maintains his innocence of the charge.

 

When news of the Zionist army’s reoccupation of Al-Thahere’ya spread in the prison, Ahmad confronted the prison administration asking for weapons to resist the occupation army advancing into the city. They refused!

 

Abu Yehya, then, broke the prison gates and freed all the prisoners. Upon discovering this, occupation troops pursued him through the field, firing large caliber ammunition at him. However, he managed to escape. And for the next two months, occupation soldiers and settlers around Al-Khaliel would live to regret this escape.

 

Operations:

Prior to his imprisonment by the Palestinian Authority, Abu Yehya managed to carry out a number of successful operations against the occupation army and Zionist settlers. But the chronicles of these operations will be left for the future.

 

After his escape from Thahere’ya prison, Abu Yehaya lived less than two months before attaining martyrdom. These short days witnessed an incredible effort resulting in a number of successful operations, and others that weren’t destined for success.

 

Abu Yehya attempted to organized a number of martyrdom operations; however, these efforts didn’t culminate in carrying out such operations. On another front, Abu Yehya registered exceptional success in targeting Zionist settlement.

 

Abu Yehya attacked Shama settlement on the land of Sammou’ near Al-Khalil. However, the operation didn’t register casualties among guards or settlers. The next operation was ambushing a bus of occupation soldiers in what became known as the Beit Sheimish operation. Abu Yehya registered direct hits at the bus and its occupants. However, counting the casualties was difficult, as he barely managed to return to base after the operation.

 

On 27 Apr, Abu Yehya and martyr Tariq Doufash attacked the settlement of Adoura in the Farsh El-Hawa area west of Al-Khalil. Both infiltrated into the settlement and killed 5 settlers and guards. Both managed to get out of the settlement after the operation; but Tariq was martyred outside the settlement, and Abu Yehya returned to base.

 

The settlement of Karmi Tsur is located between the towns of Halhoul and Beit Amer north of Al-Khalil. Abu Yehya and another mujahid wore Zionist army uniforms and infiltrated into the settlement at 02:30 on 8 Jun 2002. The attackers surprised the settlement guards and wounded one of them seriously; the other guard dropped his M-16 and fled the scene. The mujahideen next met a settler and his wife who ran out of the house and exchanged fire with the mujahideen. Both Zionists were killed and the mujahideen took their guns, an M-16 and a Galil assault rifle. It was later learned that the settler was a paratrooper in the Zionist army.

 

Next, the mujahideen attacked an occupation army jeep and ambulance that came to the scene. Most of the Zionists were injured in the exchange of fire. One of them was killed and the rest were crying for help. At this moment, the occupation army sent in two armored personnel carriers that surrounded the mujahideen. A fully-armored soldier came out of one of the carriers; and the mujahideen fired at him; but the armor protected him. The soldier fired and injured Abu Yehya seriously.

 

The mujahideen managed to withdraw from the area to a safe spot; but Abu Yehya’s injury was very serious. His last words to his fellow mujahid were:

 

“Don’t worry about me and continue to fight. If your ammunition runs out, retreat; and Allah will protect you. They see with the light of aggression and you see with the Light of Allah. Don’t worry about their planes, machine guns, or light flares. Allah is with you.”

 

Then Abu Yehya smiled and prayed for his wife and children. Then he prayed to Allah to protect the mujahideen.

 

After the mujahid was sure that Abu Yehya was martyred, and after his ammunition ran out, he made it back to his base.

 

Aftermath:

After his martyrdom, Abu Yehya’s children said that they saw their father one week before his martyrdom. He implored them to perform their prayers and adhere to good morals and ethics. His wife said that he told her to raise their children on the love of jihad and martyrdom in order to meet in paradise. And after he left, he came back and asked her to forgive him for all she had to put up with because of his jihad. She replied, “I forgive you; and may Allah grant you success in everything you do.” Then Um Yehya prayed to Allah, “O Lord, let him come and go under the banner of truth, and grant him from You and authority of assistance. O Lord of All good names, make his deeds an honor to the people of Al-Khalil and Palestine; and sooth the hearts of the believers with them.”

 

Fatima said that she asked here father to endorse her on the Day of Judgment; and he replied, “If I don’t who will I endorse then!”

 

Ayna, who is 5, said that her father kissed her a lot and told her, “Give my greetings to anyone who asks about me.”

 

And he implored his sons to remain obedient to their mother and to adhere to good morals and the ethics of Islam.

 

On the day Abu Yehya was martyred, a large force of the occupation army raided Dura and went to his house. Um Yehya said that a “Captain Bern” came and asked her, “Who is going to feed these 7 children?”

 

She raised her finger towards the sky and replied, “Allah.”

 

He asked her 3 times, “Allah or Al-Qassam Brigades?”

 

The soldiers ransacked the house and went to Beit Awwa, to Abu Yehya’s family house, where they arrested his two brothers.