Thursday, October 25, 2007

You think it's quiet over here?

Israeli seriously wounded in shooting attack at Ariel Junc. An Israeli was moderately to seriously wounded Wednesday morning after coming under fire from a passing Palestinian car at Ariel Junction.

The Palestinian vehicle - described as a blue Savannah van - was seen speeding off eastward towards Tapuah Junction after firing shots at a hitchhiking post from a distance of 100-150 meters.

One person among the several who were waiting for rides at the hitchhiking post, a 20-year-old youth, was reportedly shot in the stomach. A helicopter was called to the scene to evacuate him to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.

Magen David Adom paramedic Gil Moskovitch was present at the scene and told Israel Radio that the victim had been hit multiple times in his lower body and was in serious condition.

A second person was also wounded after being shot in the leg. He managed to walk to the Ariel police station.

As the car fled, the shooter or shooters reportedly opened fire at oncoming traffic.
Ariel Mayor Ron Nachman, who arrived at the junction shortly after the shooting, called Wednesday's incident a "classic case" of a shooting attack. Nachman reminded Army Radio that Ariel Junction has been the scene of multiple terror attacks in the past.

In 2002, three soldiers were killed and 19 other people wounded when a suicide bomber detonated himself in approximately the same location. According to Nachman, three other bombings targeted a bus station on the other side of the road.

Police and the IDF set up roadblocks throughout the area in the hopes of catching the shooter. On Wednesday afternoon, security forces said they had located what they suspected was the vehicle used in the attack in the Palestinian village of Jamma'in near Ariel.

The car had been set on fire, and officials believed that the perpetrators used another one to escape, Army Radio reported.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said authorities were investigating the incident. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip responded to the attack, calling it an "inevitable result" of the government's recent gestures towards Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in which Israel released security prisoners.

"We warned that releasing terrorists and removing others from the list of fugitives would lead to terror attacks," the council said in a statement.
"Rather than trying to strengthen [Abbas], which is bound to fail, the government should increase the security of Israel's residents", it added.
Fatah-affiliated group claims shooting attack

JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST Oct. 24, 2007

A Fatah-affiliated group took responsibility for Wednesday's shooting attack at Ariel Junction that wounded one Israeli seriously and a second lightly.
Comment: This is Abbas' Fatah. He either sanctioned the hit or he cannotcontrol his own people. to sign any paper with Abbas is to sign a worthless document.

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