The Jenin Martyrs Brigade (JMB) was formed shortly after the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada by Mahmoud Nashbat, a former member of the Palestinian preventive security forces. The group consists of breakaway members of Fatah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, as well as former Palestinian security officials. The JMB's initial goal was to defend Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank from Israeli military incursions. However, shortly after formation, the JMB expanded its operations to include launching offensive terrorist attacks against Israel.<p> <br /><br />The group's name is a reference to the fierce urban fighting that took place in the Jenin refugee camp in April 2002 between Palestinians and the Israeli Defense Forces. The Jenin camp is located on the outskirts of the town of Jenin in the West Bank, and it has been administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency since 1953. Approximately 13,000 registered refugees live in the camp, whose sides are about 600 yards long. During the 12 days of fighting, a disputed number of Palestinians were killed (most reports place the number of dead at 52, with 22 of those killed being civilians) and property destruction was widespread. Palestinians alleged a massacre of civilians took place, but Israel and various humanitarian groups (including Human Rights Watch and the United Nations) have denied this charge.<p>  <br /><br />On October 8, 2005, the JMB kidnapped Jihad Abed as he crossed back into the Gaza Strip from Egypt with his family.  Abed was a Colonel in Palestinian military intelligence and a senior aide to the former Palestinian head of intelligence, Mousa Arafat.  Abed was held in al Burreij refugee camp until his release two days later. <p><br />In mid July 2004, the JMB abducted Gaza Police Superintendent Ghazi Jabali, who they accused of stealing $22 million in public funds. They took Jabali to the Buraig refugee camp in central Gaza, where he was unceremoniously paraded through the streets. Senior officials from the governing Palestinian Authority opened negotiations with the JMB soon after the abduction, and Jabali was released after approximately two hours.<p> <br /><br />The JMB also claimed responsibility for the March 2003 bombing of an Israeli bus in Haifa. The bus was blown to pieces when a suicide bomber, seated in the rear of the vehicle, detonated 10-15 kilograms of shrapnel-laced explosives that were attached to his body. 16 people died in the blast, and another 30-40 were injured. The bomber, Mahmoud Salim Kawasme, was a 22 year old native of Hebron with ties to Hamas. On Kawasme's body was a letter lauding the September 11,, 2001 al-Qaeda hijackers. <br />