E. J’lem man killed in shooting attack
Man, 35, murdered and 4 more wounded when their vehicle comes under fire north of capital; IDF suspects terror attack but isn’t yet ruling out inter-familial clashes
An East Jerusalem resident, 35, was killed and four Arab Israelis were wounded between the Atarot checkpoint and the Ofer army base north of Jerusalem Sunday night in a shooting attack which officials suspect was terror related.
The victims’ vehicle came under gunfire from the direction of the Shadra village late Sunday. Large army forces, Magen David Adom medics and police arrived on the scene. Forces provided initial medical treatment for the wounded and began immediately to investigate the circumstances of the shooting.
Initial investigations found that a Transit vehicle drove up to the Kalandiya checkpoint north of Jerusalem, with the critically wounded man and the four other victims inside. Two of the wounded were treated on the spot, and the other two were evacuated to hospital in light condition. The man who suffered severe wounds died shortly thereafter despite medics' efforts.
The victims said that somewhere between the Shadra village and Kalandiya they came under a hail of bullets coming from one of the hilltops. According to the victim’s testimonies, the IDF assessed that a Palestinian taxi arrived at the scene from which a Palestinian passenger disembarked, and then opened fire towards the passing vehicle. After the attack he returned to the taxi and fled towards Ramallah.
The initial probe was inconclusive regarding the motives for the shooting, but IDF officials said that suspicions were increasing that the shooting was a terror attack. Investigators were still pursuing a few channels of investigation and were not ruling out the possibility that an inter-familial clash between Palestinians led to the shooting.
IDF forces were scouring the area for the perpetrators.
Day of attacks
The shooting comes at the end of a day filled with Palestinian-Israeli violence. Terror attacks wounded two Israeli victims when they were hit by Qassam rocket fire, one severely and one lightly. Defense Minister Amir Peretz visited one of the victims at the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.
“I am turning to (Palestinian President Mahmoud) Abbas to act now to stop the shooting,” Peretz told reporters. “If the fire doesn’t stop, our response will be painful for all those involved. We held a security consultation, and we’re examining these incidents. No doubt the escalation by the terror organizations and Hamas demands we be prepared. We have plans. We have no intention of allowing the organizations to attacks without paying a price for harming Israeli citizens. I suggest all involved stop this rocket fire, whose singular purpose is to hurt civilians, children and women.”
“If the rocket fire continues,” Peretz warned, “no participant will be allowed to clear himself of responsibility by any means – not to those launching the rockets, nor those dispatching them, nor those planning on all levels. Israeli citizens will get every protection. We plan to operate towards complete quiet. Nothing will silence us, by any means.”
“I therefore instructed all involved. We have plans, we have means, and we will use them,” Peretz said.
