MIDDLE EAST: AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE ARE KILLED AFTER PALESTINIAN GUNMEN FIRE ON JEWISH SETTLERS ON THEIR WAY TO SABBATH PRAYERS IN HEBRON

Record ID: 640753

  • Title: MIDDLE EAST: AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE ARE KILLED AFTER PALESTINIAN GUNMEN FIRE ON JEWISH SETTLERS ON THEIR WAY TO SABBATH PRAYERS IN HEBRON
  • Date: 15th November 2002
  • Summary: (W7) HEBRON, WEST BANK (NOVEMBER 15, 2002) (REUTERS) (NIGHTSHOTS) VARIOUS GUNBATTLE FOLLOWING SHOOTING OF SIX ISRAELIS (2 SHOTS) LV ISRAELI ARMY VEHICLE GV: GUNBATTLE VARIOUS ISRAELI ARMY VEHICLES AND UNIDENTIFIED EMERGENCY VEHICLES IN STREETS (2 SHOT) WIDE OF GUNBATTLE SCENE
  • Embargoed: 30th November 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: HEBRON, WEST BANK / JERUSALEM / GAZA CITY, GAZA
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Crime,Conflict,General,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA27HONONU4UM070XQ5BFJDEJFM
  • Story Text: Palestinian gunmen fired at Jewish settlers on their way to
    Sabbath eve prayers in the West Bank city of Hebron on
    Friday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 15 others,
    Israeli security sources said.

    The head of Islamic Jihad said his Palestinian militant
    organisation carried out the attack.


    The attack appeared to be the most serious against
    Israelis in the divided city since the start of a Palestinian
    uprising for statehood more than two years ago. It raised the
    spectre of heavy retaliation by Israel's right-wing
    government.

    The security sources said Palestinian gunmen had opened
    fire and thrown hand grenades at a group of settlers heading
    towards the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the centre of the city,
    where they had planned to attend Friday night prayers.

    Soldiers who rushed to the scene -- an area popularly
    known as "worshippers' lane" -- also came under fire and
    several were killed or wounded, Army Radio said.

    The security sources put the number of Israeli dead at 10
    and said some 15 people were wounded.

    A heavy gun battle between troops and Palestinian gunmen
    erupted after the incident and Israeli flares lit the night
    sky, witnesses said.

    The latest upsurge in bloodshed has caught Israel in the
    midst of preparations for party primary ballots this month
    ahead of the parliamentary election in January.

    The Deputy spokesman for the Israeli Foreign ministry,
    Jonathan Peled, confirmed the shooting and called it a
    "terrorist attack".

    "Jewish worshipper on their way to Friday night prayers
    were attacked and brutally murdered by Palestinian terrorists
    only five days after the atrocious attack on the Kibbutz
    Metzer when a mother and two little babies were shot and
    murdered in their bedroom. Israel will not tolerate this wave
    of terror against its citizens against these attacks in our
    bedrooms, in our homes, in our synagogues, in our malls, on
    our buses."
    The head spokesman of Islamic Jihad has said that his
    group are responsible for the attack.

    Islamic Jihad spokesman Abdullah al-Shani said, "it is our
    right to defend the Palestinians' interests and I am very
    happy about the attack. From updates we've received and from
    the leader of the Islamic Jihad in Lebanon, it was the
    military arm of the Islamic Jihad that did it (the attack)."
    It was the deadliest attack against Israelis in the West
    Bank city since the start of a Palestinian uprising more than
    two years ago and raised the spectre of heavy retaliation by
    Israel's right-wing government.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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