and brilliant career. Proving his capabilities in numerous naval opera-
tions, Ayalon quickly climbed the ladder and became the commander
of the Israeli Navy with the rank of major general (equivalent to admi-
ral). In 1996, shortly after retiring from the navy, Ayalon was appointed
director of the Israeli Security Agency, a post he held until 2000.
On 25 June 2003 Ayalon, together with Palestinian professor Sari
Nusseibeh, launched a peace initiative called “the National Census.”
The initiative’s goal is to collect as many signatures of Israelis and
Palestinians as possible for the peace plan guidelines of a two-state
solution without the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Although
Ayalon promotes traditional left-wing ideas, he insists he is not a part
of the Israeli left wing and scorns the Israeli peace camp for their
alienation and hostility to the Israeli public, especially toward the set-
tlers. Ayalon managed to outrage many left-wing activists when he
said that only Ariel Sharon and the Likud party could bring peace.AYASH, YAHYA (1966–1996).Born near Nablus, Ayash studied elec-
trical engineering at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah and joined
Hamas shortly afterward. He is best known in the world as “the En-
gineer.” During a 24-month campaign of terror beginning on 6 April
1994, Ayash killed 130 Israelis and wounded nearly 500. His first car
bomb, detonated by a suicide bomber, killed 8 and wounded 30 peo-
ple. A week later a man destroyed a crowded bus with 50 pounds of
explosives strapped to his body. More bombings, all masterminded
by the Engineer, followed with dreadful regularity. As the carnage in
the streets of Israeli cities mounted, the Engineer became the most
wanted man in modern Israeli history, resulting in one of the largest
manhunts ever. The search involved the British Secret Service (MI5),
the Royal Jordanian Special Forces, the U.S. Federal Bureau of In-
vestigation, and the New York City Police Department. In charge of
catching Ayash was the Israeli Security Agency(ISA), the most elite
of Israel secret services. On one occasion in the manhunt, Ayash es-
caped detection by disguising himself as an old Arab woman; on an-
other, he donned the garb of an Orthodox Jewish student. As the
search wore on, and the killings continued, Ayash became revered by
masses of Palestinians.
Finally, the ISA succeeded in finding an operative who agreed to
give Ayash a booby-trapped cell phone. The operative had been told24 • AYASH, YAHYA06-102 (02) A-G.qxd 3/24/06 7:23 AM Page 24