Four Israelis killed in shooting attack near Hebron

ogre1213

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-d ... n-1.311318


Four Israelis killed in shooting attack near Hebron
Two men and two women, one of whom was pregnant, killed in attack that occurred around 7:30 P.M. when gunmen opened fire on victims' car.

By Anshel Pfeffer, Amos Harel and News Agencies

Four Israelis were killed on Tuesday night when gunmen opened fire on their car at the entrance to Kiryat Arba, near Hebron, in the West Bank.


Photo by: Lior Mizrachi
The attack occurred around 7:30 P.M. on Route 60, when shots were fired at a private vehicle near the Bnei Naim junction, south of Kiryat Arba. Preliminary reports showed the gunmen approached the vehicle and shot the victims multiple times at point-blank range.


No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes just a day before the White House effort to re-launch Mideast peace talks.

"We can confirm there are four dead at the scene," Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Magen David Adom reported that the victims were two men aged 25 and 40 and two women, also aged 25 and 40, one of whom was pregnant.

The victims were all residents of the settlement of Beit Hagai in the southern Hebron Hills.

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi earlier this week toured the West Bank with Brigadier General Nitzan Alon, the IDF commander in the territory, to discuss the army's readiness to confront efforts to "inflame the region" ahead of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in Washington.

This attack is the latest in shooting attacks on Israelis in the West Bank. In June, a police officer was killed and two others were wounded in a shooting attack on their vehicle outside Hebron, and in May two Israelis were hurt by broken glass when bullets hit their car on a different stretch of Route 60.

ogre1213

Hamas praises West Bank shooting attack

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340 ... 18,00.html

Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip praised a shooting that killed four Israelis in the West Bank on Tuesday but did not claim responsibility for the attack.

"Hamas praises the attack and regards it as a natural response to the crimes of the occupation," said Sami Abu-Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, adding that the attack was proof "of a failure of security coordination" between Israel and the Palestinians. (Reuters)

rafie

The news here has reported that Hammas has taken responsibility for this attack.

I would like to see the anti-Israel folk here defend this attack and still claim that Hammas should be part of the peace talks starting tomorrow. Wake up people!

Jason P

I don't think Israel and Palestine will ever come close to a peace deal. All it takes is for a small group to do something like this or launch a few rockets and the whole thing will get derailed. It is a grandiose version of the Hatfields and McCoys.

I've stopped trying to make sense of the whole situation . . . too much history and too much conflict to process. I just find it hard to believe that Hamas and Israel can have an open-minded and thoughtful discussion on peace when I have yet to see an open-minded and thoughtful discussion among members of AMT . . .

ajedigecko

and now Israel's........natural response.

redrock

rafie wrote:

The news here has reported that Hammas has taken responsibility for this attack.

I would like to see the anti-Israel folk here defend this attack and still claim that Hammas should be part of the peace talks starting tomorrow. Wake up people!

No such claim has been made in any of the news in Europe. Where is 'here' for you? Israel? No attack is defensible but were these not israelis in occupied territory, from an illegal settlement? Risks are taken deciding to live in such a situation. Not that it justifies any killing/drive by shooting.

Hamas have been duly elected and thus should be part of the talks. All parties need to be involved.

cincybearcat

redrock wrote:

rafie wrote:

The news here has reported that Hammas has taken responsibility for this attack.

I would like to see the anti-Israel folk here defend this attack and still claim that Hammas should be part of the peace talks starting tomorrow. Wake up people!

No such claim has been made in any of the news in Europe. Where is 'here' for you? Israel? No attack is defensible but were these not israelis in occupied territory, from an illegal settlement? Risks are taken deciding to live in such a situation. Not that it justifies any killing/drive by shooting.

Hamas have been duly elected and thus should be part of the talks. All parties need to be involved.

"No attack is defensible"....yet you just tried.

gimmesometruth27

this attack was wrong. very sad and shameful.

if anything else it is going to lead to a violent reprisal from israel and the cycle will continue again...

i am interested to find out more about this. if they were settlers in a disputed region, then that might be the motivation for the attack in and of itself. either way, bad message to be sending on the eve of peace talks...

gimmesometruth27

hamas did claim responsibility.....WTF hamas??
hamas' responsibility in this atttack is not helping the palestinian's cause with talks set to begin in 2 days...

Palestinian kills 4 Israelis on eve of peace talks

JERUSALEM – Palestinian gunmen opened fire Tuesday on an Israeli car in the West Bank and killed four passengers on the eve of a new round of Mideast peace talks in Washington. The Islamic militant group Hamas claimed responsibility.

The assailants attacked the car as it traveled near Hebron — a volatile city that has been a flash point of violence in the past. Some 500 ultranationalist Jewish settlers live in heavily fortified enclaves in the city amid more than 100,000 Palestinians.

One of the victims was pregnant, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. Israel's national rescue service said the victims were two men and two women, and Israeli media said everyone in the car was killed.

Video broadcast live on Israel TV late Tuesday showed a white Subaru station wagon standing at an angle at the side of a road, its windows shot out and its doors dotted with bullet holes. The car was flanked by army and police vehicles and dozens of soldiers. The military said the gunfire came from a passing car.

The attackers fled and Israeli forces set up roadblocks and carried out searches.

A rally in Gaza to celebrate the attack drew about 3,000 people. At the gathering, Hamas military wing spokesman Abu Obeida told The Associated Press: "The Qassam Brigades announces its full responsibility for the heroic operation in Hebron."

Upon arriving in Washington for this week's talks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack.

"Terror will not determine Israel's borders or the future of the settlements," he said, referring to a key issue in the negotiations.

President Barack Obama hopes to forge a peace agreement within one year.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was already in Washington meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's office issued a statement charging the attack was aimed at undermining his government's effort to build international support for "the Palestinian position and ending the (Israeli) occupation."

Hamas, a fierce rival of the Western-backed Palestinian president, expelled Abbas' forces of from Gaza in 2007 and took over the territory. Abbas has been trying to limit the Islamic militants' reach in the West Bank, jailing activists and even cracking down on mosque preachers.

Hamas, responsible for dozens of suicide bombings in Israel, is considered a terrorist group by the U.S., Israel and European Union.

Asked about the shooting, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the U.S. is aware "there are those who will do whatever they can to disrupt or derail the process."

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak promised a tough response to an attack he said was aimed at sabotaging the talks.

"Israel will not allow terrorists to raise their heads and will exact a price from the murderers and those who send them," he said in a statement.

U.N. envoy Robert Serry issued a statement condemning the attack and urged all parties "not to allow the enemies of peace to affect the negotiations about to be launched."

___

Associated Press writers Matti Friedman and Robert Burns in Washington, Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City, Gaza Strip and Nasser Shiyoukhi in Hebron, West Bank contributed to this report.

cincybearcat

If Israel was smarter and less ridiculous, they would use this as leverage during talks to gain some international support back. They have been handed an opportunity to wipe clean all the wrong.

Unfortunately, they will instead use it as a reason to do nothing.

rebornFixer

Yet more evidence that Hamas is not interested in peace but rather terror and ethnic killings. Not shocked that someone here (redrock) would try to defend them, though. On the flip side of the stupid coin, I agree with Cincy (not calling you stupid, Cincy ... Referring to the less than inspired contributions from both sides). Israel will likely use this incident as a reason to stall or avoid making a just settlement altogether. The cycle will continue.

Cosmo

rebornFixer wrote:

Yet more evidence that Hamas is not interested in peace but rather terror and ethnic killings. Not shocked that someone here (redrock) would try to defend them, though. On the flip side of the stupid coin, I agree with Cincy (not calling you stupid, Cincy ... Referring to the less than inspired contributions from both sides). Israel will likely use this incident as a reason to stall or avoid making a just settlement altogether. The cycle will continue.

...
I agree with you guys... it seems like no one in any position of power really wants to end the violence.
Is there money to be made here? Becuase something is driving this thing to make sure violence is the norm.

TriumphantAngel

i strongly disagree with the actions of the Israel, and could never applaud or turn a blind eye to the murder of innocent people.

can we please not forget that the people of Gaza and the West Bank, for the most, are just ordinary human beings who deserve to be treated so much better than they are. please don't let the actions of a few obscure that fact.

Cosmo

TriumphantAngel wrote:

i strongly disagree with the actions of the Israel, and could never applaud or turn a blind eye to the murder of innocent people.

can we please not forget that the people of Gaza and the West Bank, for the most, are just ordinary human beings who deserve to be treated so much better than they are. please don't let the actions of a few obscure that fact.

...
Agreed... but, you have to admit... Hamas isn't doing anyone any favors by having Hamas military wing spokesman Abu Obeida say, "The Qassam Brigades announces its full responsibility for the heroic operation in Hebron."
That guys needs to be fired or something because everyone knows what is going to happen in the next chapter... an Israeli air strike.
Again... SOMEONE must be making money from all this shit. That has to be the explanation, right?

dimitrispearljam

in my country this called murder....exactly the same israekians did in those ships they atttack
i dont see any difference,no matter the nationality or color or name of the victim...its murder...

gimmesometruth27

i realize that hamas does not want any involvement with the israelis and they do not want the peace talks, but why would they make the last major headline heading into the peace talks by doing this? it was a stupid strategic move. period. the braindead in the rest of the world are only going to remember that "a palestinian murdered 4 israelis" instead of the blockade and human rights abuses and what is driving the conflict. couldn't hamas have stopped for a week while they had public opinion on the side of the palestinians heading into the talks? to me is sounds like the old circular firing squad example. netanyahu is going to play the victim card during the talks and a few weeks after the talks there will be an airstrike killing 40 palestinians...

edit, for those that don't know...circular firing squad...imagine 10 people with rifles in a circle and one person in the middle tied to a stake awaiting execution. all 10 guys fire their rifles, yes they hit the prisoner, but how many of them get shot by the person opposing them on the other side of the circle? hamas had public support behind them in a lot of the world, and now they did this ahead of the talks and hurt the cause of all of the palestinians...so unfortunate...

TriumphantAngel

cincybearcat wrote:

If Israel was smarter and less ridiculous, they would use this as leverage during talks to gain some international support back. They have been handed an opportunity to wipe clean all the wrong.

Unfortunately, they will instead use it as a reason to do nothing.

cincy, anyone that believes that all of Israels wrongs could be wiped clean because of this, is part of the problem too.

TriumphantAngel

Cosmo wrote:

TriumphantAngel wrote:

i strongly disagree with the actions of the Israel, and could never applaud or turn a blind eye to the murder of innocent people.

can we please not forget that the people of Gaza and the West Bank, for the most, are just ordinary human beings who deserve to be treated so much better than they are. please don't let the actions of a few obscure that fact.

...
Agreed... but, you have to admit... Hamas isn't doing anyone any favors by having Hamas military wing spokesman Abu Obeida say, "The Qassam Brigades announces its full responsibility for the heroic operation in Hebron."
That guys needs to be fired or something because everyone knows what is going to happen in the next chapter... an Israeli air strike.
Again... SOMEONE must be making money from all this shit. That has to be the explanation, right?

how many people even understand that the so called "Peace Talks" about to commence, do not even include Hamas at all. in their messed up heads its not surprising they are continuing with the war. Israel hasn't stopped their war against them.

it sickens me that these people died and i''m no definitely no fan of hamas. think about it cosmo, the West Bank is a war zone, it's disputed land. the people killed were settlers. you cross those lines and you'd have to be a fool not to understand the risks involved. just because Hamas military isn't powerful like Israels, and they don't have checkpoints on the borders with guns pointed at your head like Israelis do, doesn't mean that you will be safe.

do i need to tell you what happens to the Palestinians if they try to cross those same lines?

that's not an excuse. that's fact.

and talk about an Israeli air strike happening next? murder another 1400 Palestinians?? thats so fucked up i don't even know where to start.

ajedigecko

i believe cosmo stated it correctly.......there is money/power to be made or maintained. nothing more.

gimmesometruth27

nobody thinks it SHOULD happen, but given the history of complete over-reaction and all out mass murder on the part of the IDF after similar incidents to this one, it would not surprise me if it does happen. there is a history of going waaaay overboard with murdering many many innocent civillians in response to attacks like these. i hope like hell there will be no violent reprisal, but knowing what i know and reading ehud barak's (sp?) comments i have a terrible feeling there will be.

catefrances

we will screw you into the ground and when you retaliate we will use that as justification for us screwing you into the ground.