Three killed in terror attacks
By Margot Dudkevitch
jpost.com
JERUSALEM (May 30) - Three Israelis were shot dead and four others wounded in two separate terror attacks in the West Bank yesterday. In addition, two soldiers suffered light to moderate wounds when two Palestinian suicide bombers detonated explosives near an army post in the southern Gaza Strip.
Gilad Zar, 40, the security officer of the Samaria Regional Council, was killed as he travelled between Yitzhar and Kedumim early yesterday morning.
Sarah Blaustein, 53, of Efrat, a new immigrant from New York, and Esther Alvan, 20, were killed, in an attack on the Jerusalem-Gush Etzion (tunnel) road, just north of Neveh Daniel. The two, along with five others, were headed for Jerusalem to attend Zar's funeral.
Alvan died hours later from the severe head wounds she sustained. Blaustein's husband Norman, 52, and her son Samuel Berg, 28, who was visiting from the US, were wounded, as was Yisrael Deri, 20, also from Efrat. Ada Moran, 39, suffered severe anxiety. The other passenger in the car was unscathed. The wounded were taken to Jerusalem's Hadassah-University Hospital, Ein Kerem, and Shaare Zedek Hospital.
Zar, 40, father of eight children aged three to 15, lived with his wife Hagar in Itamar and was the son of Moshe Zar, one of the first pioneers in Samaria. Shortly after 7, he was driving near the Gitt junction, between Kedumim and Yitzhar, when terrorists in a parked car shot at his windshield, causing his car to overturn. Two terrorists then got out, walked to Zar's car, and shot him in the head at point-blank range. Zar was buried in Karnei Shomron last night.
Security officials did not rule out the possibility that Zar was specifically targeted, but noted that it is possible that the terrorists planned to shoot at an Israeli vehicle and Zar's just came along.
After the attack, the IDF tightened security on villages in the Nablus area and a blockade was reimposed on the city. OC Judea and Samaria Brig.-Gen. Benny Ganz told reporters that despite the restrictions imposed on the area, it could not totally be sealed off.
"No matter how painful such incidents are, we must breathe and count to 10 and decide what to do," he said.
Shortly after Zar's murder, Jewish residents of Hebron clashed with Palestinians until they were separated by security forces. Zar has relatives in the city. Police later detained two Jewish youths and a Palestinian for questioning.
Yesterday afternoon, Blaustein, her husband, son, and the others headed for Jerusalem to attend Zar's funeral when Palestinians in a passing car sprayed their vehicle with gunfire before fleeing toward Bethlehem. The Blaustein's made aliya from New York last August and lived on the same Efrat street as her brother, David Unterberg, and his wife Cheryl. Their daughter Atara, 14, was not in the car. Berg is Blaustein's son from a previous marriage.
Gush Etzion area commander Col. Marcel Aviv said security officials had obtained details on the terrorists' vehicle. Aviv accused the PA of orchestrating the attack and noted that the army could not sit back and allow civilians to be murdered on the roads. The army closed off Bethlehem and tightened security on villages in the area.
Shaul Goldstein, head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, received word of the attack at Zar's funeral. "Every day we attend funerals, and the government talks of a cease-fire, about the budget, and we continue burying our friends. It's about time the government realizes that those who make peace with scorpions can be bitten," he said.
Yesterday afternoon, two terrorists wearing belts with explosives approached soldiers manning the Tufah crossing near the Neveh Dekalim industrial zone. One of the terrorists detonated his belt as he approached, and soldiers shot and killed the second as he threw grenades at them. Two soldiers suffered light to moderate wounds were taken to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.
The IDF Spokesman noted that the swift action of the soldiers had prevented a large-scale terror attack.
The US yesterday condemned the latest shootings, noting that an American citizen who recently immigrated to Israel had been killed.
"We condemn all such incidents and call upon Palestinian Authority officials to do what they can to end these attacks and obviously... look to the Mitchell Report in implementing the recommendations there to try to break the cycle of violence," said State Department spokesman Phil Reeker.
The US Embassy in Tel Aviv also issued a statement last night on behalf of special envoy William Burns that said the US "condemns in the strongest terms possible the acts of violence today that claimed the lives of both Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the life of at least one American citizen. These tragic events are yet another reminder of the need for urgent action to end violence."
Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer indicated yesterday that Israel will continue its unilateral cease-fire, despite the rash of fatal attacks on Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria.
But he said that restraint would only last until it becomes apparent the latest round of talks with the Palestinians is unproductive. He also hinted that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's Fatah group in particular is being carefully monitored by the defense establishment.
"The most painful thing about the murder of Gilad Zar was that Fatah announced it was responsible for this attack. Of course we are making a note of this," Ben-Eliezer said.
Ben-Eliezer said that the security talks being held between Israeli and Palestinian officials last night are critical for reaching an end to the violence.
"Tonight, we are starting our security coordination, and I hope that as a result of this, the first and critical stage, the shooting incidents will begin to cease. It's not up to us - it's up to them. We began our cease-fire two weeks ago," Ben-Eliezer said prior to meeting with UN representative in his Tel Aviv office.
In the meeting with UN Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno, Ben-Eliezer said that the key to the cessation of violence was in the hands of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.
The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza called on Ben-Eliezer to bar all Palestinian vehicles from West Bank and Gaza the highways to prevent attacks on Israelis on the roads.
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And the clock slowly ticks until the moment the Israelis say "enough is enough" and take matters into their own hands.
Hawk |
