Israel Series Part 2: A Courageous Man
Mark Trimble, left, shown in Israel earlier this year.
Mark Trimble, left, shown in Israel earlier this year.

“This is an intractable conflict, there is no solution. War is coming. Roni Shaked, Commander (Ret.) of Shin Bet (Israel’s Internal Security Services)

In 1400 years there has been no inter-Arab peace, Sunni and Shiite Muslims have been at war with each other. If they cannot achieve peace with each other, what makes the world believe they can negotiate and achieve peace with others.

On June 6th, 2010, the leadership of the terrorist group Hamas publicly declared, “It is time to launch (Suicide) bombers into Israel.” In 1993 Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin entered into the Oslo Accords. Rabin formally recognized the PLO as “the representative of the Palestinian people,” Arafat officially recognized “the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security” and renounced “the use of terrorism and other acts of violence.” The Oslo Accords led to the formation of the Palestinian Authority. Hamas leaders opposed the peace agreement; their reasons included the risk that a peace accord might actually take hold in the region. A peaceful coexistence would mean the end of Hamas. From Hamas’ point of view, their organization could not thrive in a peaceful atmosphere; they had a stake in the continuation of conflict. So the attacks on Israel continued. Ultimately Hamas refused to participate in the peace process. At this point Hamas grew into a full-blown terrorist organization. In present day Gaza, Hamas leadership was voted in to control the area, and the attacks continue.

In June of this year I had the honor of meeting the most courageous and dedicated man I have known. To this day his life and the lives of his family are in danger from Muslim extremists. This is his story.

Aashif (not his real name) is a Palestinian Muslim. He was born in Hebron in the early 1950’s. As a young man he witnessed a fellow Muslim throw a hand grenade into a Muslim holy site in Hebron. Aashif said, as he witnessed this attack he thought to himself that the hand grenade tossed by a fellow Muslim could have killed his mother, brother, other family members and friends who were visiting the holy site. That day Aashif made the decision to become a Collaborator.

A Collaborator is an undercover Palestinian Agent, who works with Shin Bet (Israeli Internal Security Services) to infiltrate the Palestinian terrorist cells. Aashif stated his decision came from the heart, and not for any other reason. The dedication he displayed over the next 25 years proved he was a man of his word. He helped stop numerous terrorist attacks that would have killed innocent Israeli’s and Muslims alike.

Much like Confidential Informants assists law enforcement in infiltrating drug dealing and organized crime operations, Aashif went into Gaza, slowly introduced himself to terrorist leadership, and eventually became trusted as a fellow terrorist by the terrorist leadership.

But this did not come without a very deep cost. When Hamas found out Aashif was a Collaborator, they placed a bomb outside of his home in Hebron, and attempted to kidnap his 7 year old son. Palestinian terrorist kidnapped Aashif’s brother, tortured him, and then cut out his internal organs and threw his mutilated body into the street as a warning to other Collaborators.

Aashif’s courage and dedication stopped so many attacks and disrupted the Palestinian terrorists operations to such a high degree, that in 1997 PLO terrorist leader Yasser Arafat sent Aashif a hand written letter asking Aashif to work with the terrorist group PLO.

Aashif became so trusted and respected throughout his career as a Collaborator, that the Israeli government granted he and his family Israeli citizenship, and gave Aashif the same pension as a Shin Bet agent. Aashif and his Shin Bet handler have created such a trusted relationship over a 25 year career that Aashif named one of his sons after his Shin Bet handler, and Aashif celebrates holidays at the home of his Shin Bet handler’s family.
Aashif told me that despite all the hardships his work as a Collaborator has caused he and his family, he would not hesitate to do the same thing again, and his wife and children feel the same way.

Aashif said he is proud to be a Muslim, and proud to be a Muslim who fights against fanatical Muslim terrorists. He stated to me, “any Muslim can interpret the Quran in his own way, and this will result in a never ending group of Radical Muslims who are determined to see a world dominated by Islam and Sharia Law.”

Mark Trimble is a retired Law Enforcement Operations/Special Operations Commander. He has spent 10 years researching and studying Radical Islam and Terrorism. He has worked as an Independent Security Contractor during which time he has trained with and interviewed members of the United States Army Special Operations Forces who have served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Trimble has also had the opportunity to interact with current and reformed Islamic terrorists. He has authored a training guide called; “Understanding Radical Islam- A Training Guide For 21st Century Law Enforcement.”
Trimble has traveled to the Middle East where he was briefed by high level officials from the following Israeli military, intelligence, government, and security forces: Shin Bet (Israeli intelligence service, comparable to America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation); Israeli Ministry of Defense; IDF (Israel Defense Forces) - Israel’s military force, including ground forces, air force, navy, and military intelligence; The Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Headquarters; The Prime Minister's Office of Israel; The Gaza Security Terminal; The Knesset- The legislative branch of the Israeli government; The Director of the Israeli Government Press Office; and other members of the Israeli Intelligence Community.

Trimble also spent time in the following locations: The West Bank; Gaza; Ofer Military Base- For the observation of the murder trial of two Hamas terrorists; Kalkilia- The Arab town which is one of the main terrorists infiltration routes into Israel; Israeli Forward Military Base at the Lebanese Border (area of the terrorist group Hezbollah’s headquarters); IDF tank unit on the Syrian border; Sderot, Israel. A city on the edge of Gaza, which is under constant mortar attacks by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza.