Five miles south of Gaza City
The sun’s dying embers slipped below the horizon as darkness fell. Candles in the deserted beach shack threw a wavering dimness on proceedings. Mohammed Deif entered the shack and instantly killed off the conversation. His three lieutenants were already in attendance. All four had spent the best part of the day ensuring no tails had tracked them to their remote venue.
It had been a terrible few years for Al Qassam. The retribution by Israel on all groups for the attack on her children had been devastating. Over 80 % of the brigade had been captured, tortured and killed. However, the majority of those had been in the previous year. It was no secret that Israel was aware of the nuclear devices the Sheikh had offered Al Qassam. The Sheikh’s spies had uncovered that truth shortly after their meeting a year earlier. Somehow, the Israelis had listened into the whole meeting and knew the plan; the force with which they had responded was overwhelming. The retribution for her children paled into insignificance compared to what the Israelis had unleashed. All non Jews had been expelled instantly from Israel, even Jerusalem; the holy city had been cleansed of all non Jews. The uproar and protest at the Israeli action around the globe was muted by the evidence of the Palestinians’ nuclear ambitions. Her twelve foot walls, erected almost four years earlier, had created the world’s first truly closed state.
Mohammed and his commanders had managed to evade the Israelis through the most primitive actions. Like Osama Bin Laden, they had turned their back on all electrical and electronic equipment. Cell phones, telephones, computers, anything that required an electrical pulse had been ditched and replaced by pen and paper. The meeting that was about to take place had been months in preparation and would see the culmination of Al Qassam’s planning. The Sheikh would hand over the codes that would turn the nuclear warheads from dull pieces of metal into the most lethal devices ever created by man.
Mohammed smiled as he considered the Israelis’ actions. The building of the walls, the expulsion of all non-Jews. None of it had done anything for the safety of her people. The five warheads lay within the Jewish state. It had taken months to infiltrate the Israeli defenses and secure safe passage for the five weapons but it had been done. The five warheads were being slowly positioned, ready to unleash their awesome force and tip the scales towards a Palestinian victory. Palestine would be reborn.
The Sheikh’s small inflatable, its engine hardly registering a decibel, slipped noiselessly ashore. Unlike their previous meeting, he had only one guard. This was not a public meeting and only himself and the Al Qassam commanders were in attendance.
As the Sheikh took his seat and greetings and blessings to Allah were exchanged, the Sheikh quickly brought the meeting to order.
“Is everything on course? Have you selected the targets?”
“Yes, Sheikh, all of the warheads are in Israel and we are in the process of placing them at the targets we’ve selected. We will destroy the Jews once and for all.”
”Show me!” commanded the Sheikh.
Mohammed pulled out a map from a bag and spread it across the table. Of course the map was pre 1947 and was of Palestine. However, the locations of the five weapons were marked in detail. One in Jaffa, the Arab name for Tel Aviv. Two in Haifa, Israel’s major seaport. One in Eilat, her jewel in the Arabian Sea and one in Rishon leZion, Israel’s fourth largest city.
“As you will see, all five weapons are to be placed within Israel, as per your stipulation.”
“But two in Haifa? And none in Jerusalem?” asked the Sheikh looking at the detail on the map.
Mohammed was well prepared for the question. “Haifa is the seaport and lifeblood of Israel. If we destroy that not only psychologically but physically we will break the Zionist back. She needs her seaport more than ever since the walls went up. As for Jerusalem and as a Muslim, I’m sure I do not need to explain why not.”
“Of course not,” agreed the Sheikh quickly., “But I would have thought two bombs in Tel Aviv would have had more effect than two in Haifa.”
“My Sheikh, they are your weapons and only because of you do we have this opportunity. If you believe we are wrong, please, we will move one from Haifa to Tel Aviv.”
“Mohammed, my friend, please, this is your struggle. You have lived it your whole life. I should not question your plan. You are right, they are my weapons but it is your plan my friend,” the Sheikh reached into his pocket and handed Deif a small piece of paper. “Allahu Akbar, my friend. They are now your weapons. These codes will trigger the devices. I’d advise being at least 10 miles from each of them when they go off. Any idea of when you’ll be ready?”
“Let’s just say we are going to give the Jews a Yom Kippur to remember!”
The Sheikh did not reply other than to nod his head in approval. Yom Kippur was only two weeks away. After a year in the making, their plan was finally coming to fruition. With a shake of hands, the Sheikh stood and exited the shack. Not until he was out of sight did Deif feel comfortable beginning the second part of their meeting. The true destination for the fifth weapon. Haifa was home to two weapons and Mohammed had not lied when he had assured the Sheikh that all weapons were in Israel. However as he had said, Haifa was the largest port in Israel and as such was home to many ships, one of which was carrying a decidedly more deadly cargo than her manifest suggested.