Five Israelis dead as Likud voting station riddled with bullets by Fatah gunmen
The Associated Press
Nov. 28, 2002
Three Palestinian gunmen opened fire Thursday on a Likud Party office crowded with voters casting ballots in a leadership race and also fired at passengers at a nearby bus terminal. Five Israelis were killed and 24 wounded in the attack in the northern town of Beit She'an.
Two gunmen were killed in a protracted firefight with police and armed bystanders, and a third remained holed up in a house near the Likud office, firing sporadically, police said. Security forces surrounded the building.
"They fired hundreds of bullets," said the mayor of Beit She'an, Pini Caballo, adding that five Israelis were killed.
"It began in the area of the bus terminal that is adjacent to the Likud branch," Caballo told Israel Radio. "From there, they went to the Likud branch and saw the crowds and fired in all directions and hit many people."
One of the dead gunman wore an explosives belt that did not go off, police said. Authorities were also checking whether a stolen car found in the area was laden with explosives.
Israel Radio said the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a militia linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed responsibility. The report said the attack was carried out to avenge the deaths of two militia leaders in an explosion in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin earlier in the week. The militia has blamed Israel for the deaths, though Israel denied involvement.
Thursday's attack came as Likud members throughout Israel were voting in a leadership contest between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Likud officials said the vote would not be called off. Sharon is the favorite in the race.
The shooting began sometime after 3 p.m. (1300 GMT).
Rafi Ben-Shetreet, the Likud leader in Beit She'an, said he and others were standing at the entrance to the branch office. "Suddenly we heard two loud blasts, probably grenades, and massive shooting, bursts, towards the voters. People ran away," he said.
One of the attackers was killed by a security guard, Ben-Shetreet said.
Galit Cohen, who lives near the Likud office, said she heard shots. "I ran quickly to the window that faces the branch. I opened the window and I simply saw the terrorist standing, smiling, laughing and shooting in all directions," Cohen told Israel Army Radio. "He simply shot and shot and shot and he didn't stop people were fleeing and falling."
She said the assailant wore a military-style jacket and black pants and carried a large gun. |
