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3 Israelis Killed in West Bank Shootings

Posted on: Monday, 17 October 2005, 12:00 CDT

By Steven Erlanger

Palestinian gunmen killed three Israeli civilians and wounded at least five others Sunday in two drive-by shootings near Israeli settlements in the West Bank, according to Israeli officials and witnesses.

The Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, affiliated with the Fatah faction of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, claimed responsibility for both terrorist shootings. The attacks were within an hour of each other and occurred as Abbas left the region for an international tour to Washington, where he is scheduled to meet President George W. Bush on Thursday.

The first attack was 10 kilometers, or 6 miles, south of Jerusalem at a junction near Gush Etzion, one of the three settlement areas that the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, says Israel will never give up in any peace agreement. Men driving at high speed in the direction of Bethlehem fired automatic weapons at Israelis waiting at a bus stop and killed two people immediately; a third died in a hospital.

A short time later, there was another shooting attack near the settlement of Eli, about 24 kilometers north of Jerusalem, in which one Israeli civilian was reported to have been seriously wounded.

Palestinian factions have repeatedly agreed on a cease-fire with Israel through elections scheduled for Jan. 25, but say they will respond to Israeli violations. Some local leaders of the Al Aksa Brigades, like Zakariya Zubeidi in Jenin, have said they no longer respect the cease-fire because of Israeli Army arrests and killings of wanted Palestinians in the West Bank.

On Sunday, Israeli forces shot and killed a wanted Islamic Jihad leader near Jenin when he opened fire on what the army called a routine patrol. Palestinians said that the gunman, Nihad Abu Ghanem, 27, was cornered by Israeli special forces as he drove in his car south of Jenin. The Palestinians have accused Israel of renewing its policy of killing wanted militants despite the cease-fire.

David Baker, an Israeli spokesman, said that Israel had taken measures to improve life in the occupied West Bank "by lifting road blocks and increasing freedom of movement, and the terrorists have exploited these humanitarian measures."

Source: International Herald Tribune

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