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Middle East
Followup: Fatal Gaza blast hits US convoy
2003-10-15
A United States diplomatic convoy has been hit by a massive bomb blast in the Gaza Strip which killed three Americans and injured one. The BBC’s Roger Hearing in Jerusalem says that American sources in Israel say that the dead were two security guards and one junior diplomat. A witness told the BBC that the explosion was caused by a roadside bomb, possibly detonated by remote control. The explosion took place at 1000 near the village of Beit Hanoun, about one kilometre inside the Gaza Strip, near the Erez Crossing, as the convoy of US diplomatic vehicles was passing. US diplomats and members of the Central Intelligence Agency are believed to have been in the convoy, but our correspondent said it is not clear whether this convoy was deliberately targeted.
Fox News said they were a security detail...
Mohammed Radwan, a Palestinian taxi driver, said he was at a nearby petrol station when the bomb went off. "I was about to fill up my car with gas when I saw the American convoy passing. There was a Palestinian police car in front and then three big (US) cars. When the third one passed, an explosion went off," he told the Associated Press. "The first two cars drove quickly and stopped far from the explosion. Palestinian security people jumped out of the car and rushed to the car that had blown up. "When I tried to approach them, they shouted at me to leave. I saw two people covered with blood lying next to the car," he added. Another witness, Ahmed Samir, told the Reuters news agency: "We were inside our storage room, and heard the siren of police cars approaching. A few seconds later there was a huge explosion and shrapnel from body parts and debris from damaged M-16s (assault rifles) were scattered everywhere." The force of the explosion completely destroyed the silver Cherokee jeep, which bore US diplomatic number plates, and left a large crater in the ground.
They knew who was in the cars, and they targeted them deliberately. That's why Saeb's so scared. On Fox, he promised that the Paleos would work with our investigators or they could have the run of the place to track down the bad guys.
The BBC’s Simon Wilson, also in Jerusalem, says that when foreign officials travel in and around the region they do so in heavily armoured vehicles, with many security officials in tow. It is the first time a US target has been hit inside the Palestinian territories, although correspondents say it is not unusual for foreign diplomats based in Israel to travel into Gaza to try to monitor the situation there.
They were on their way to interview applicants for scholarships in the U.S.
The new Palestinian Prime Minister, Ahmed Qurei, has been swiftly to condemn the attack [sic] and promise that the incident will be thoroughly investigated. "We strongly condemn this incident and we will conduct an investigation and we will follow it to find the source of this attack," he said. Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat was quoted as saying: "These are American monitors that have come here at our request. These people were here to help us."
"My foot really hurts bad where we shot it. How about yours?"
Correspondents say Palestinian police are at the scene of the blast to begin an investigation. Initial reports suggested that John Wolf, head of a US team monitoring the implementation of the US-backed peace plan known as the road map was travelling in the group. However, US officials have said that Mr Wolf is not currently in the region.
Maybe the perps just thought he was. The radio said Hamas and IJ have both denied involvement...
Posted by:Bulldog

#21  Merc -- why a leak in US or Israeli operations? Last I heard, the convoy had PA "police" "escorts". Given the "police" involvement in past terror attacks, I'd look at them as the source of the "leak", if you call active collaborators leakers.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2003-10-15 11:28:34 PM  

#20  Let's see....

The candidates (summing up various posts and blogs) are:

1) Mossad
2) Arafat's Asswipes
3) Hamas
4) IJ
5) Syria
6) Small time wannabe Paleos
7) Egypt/Soddy (as plan hatchers rather than button pushers)
8) 2-7 above

Coulda been any of 2-8. Tho' the synchronicity of yesterday's veto in the UN and this little escalation is interesting. Sort of implies that the perps can get very accurate info about US/Israeli activity in very short order. They knew when, what, where and who. I think there is a leak/mole in the Israeli and/or US operation.

So given the veto, best guess is some Paleo group(s) with or without Syrian sympathy. Which one - we'll probably never know. The "suspects" arrested by the PA are no doubt annoyances to Arafat (AKA "Pustule on the Ass of Humanity").

Given that we don't know who pushed the button, it seems reasonable to me that we address ourselves to all those who share the mindset. That way we can be sure of getting the perp, if only in the over-kill.
Posted by: Mercutio   2003-10-15 10:03:35 PM  

#19  Level where ever Bashar is. Level Arafish's cave. Level every Saudi palace in existence. Level the Egyptian government buildings. They're all involved in this, directly or indirectly. It's time they all started to receive the "negative reinforcement" due them.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2003-10-15 9:01:40 PM  

#18   I wouldn't hit the Palestinians. I would whack the Syrians..

Hit 'em both. One for making threats, and one for carrying them out. One cruise missile each into Arafart's and Assad's front doors.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2003-10-15 5:57:03 PM  

#17  I wouldn't hit the Palestinians. I would whack the Syrians - I believe that Assad threatened a reprisal for the air raid the other day. They knew we would veto their resolution.

I believe that we are at war again. Let's waste them.
Posted by: Super Hose   2003-10-15 4:22:09 PM  

#16  "We wonder what (U.S. President George W.) Bush will do now," lamented Ahmed, a worried resident of Jabalya. "I guess he is mad at us."

Well at least ONE count 'em ONE Paleo finally understands cause and effect.

The PA should have 24 hours to clean out the filth that infests their country in terms of the leaders. If they do not, then the US and the IDF should make a joint operation and do the work for them and take them out.

The leaders of these terrorist outfits should be put on notice that they have NOWHERE to hide. Civilians better avoid them like the plage. End of story.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2003-10-15 4:10:47 PM  

#15  sadly, the US will probably react thru the State dept so the Palestians will have to endure several lectures from (rhymes with bowel), (a carefully nuanced but severely critical statement by (rhymes with voucher) and others.
Posted by: mhw   2003-10-15 3:39:12 PM  

#14  we fear the U.S. will react through Israel's army

You should really be afraid that the U.S. will react through the U.S. Air Force. "Mr. Rantisi, this is my good friend Mr. J. Dam; Mr. J. Dam, this is Mr. Rantisi. You guys should have a blast together!"
Posted by: Mike   2003-10-15 3:00:05 PM  

#13  "America is not silent any more regarding Israeli policies against us, but a supporter of these policies," he said...

Think the repeated killings of Israeli civilians has anything to do with this? Naaah, couldn't be that...
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2003-10-15 2:38:09 PM  

#12   "We wonder what (U.S. President George W.) Bush will do now," lamented Ahmed, a worried resident of Jabalya. "I guess he is mad at us."

He damned well better be.
Posted by: Steve White   2003-10-15 1:59:22 PM  

#11  Things you can depend on in life, just when one is feeling disgust with the Israelis some Palestinians do something to take your breath away.

This time last year I didn't really think that ethnic cleansing was a possibility in Gaza and the West Bank. My opinion is changing real fast.
Posted by: Hiryu   2003-10-15 1:38:05 PM  

#10  "We wonder what (U.S. President George W.) Bush will do now,... I guess he is mad at us."

Yeah, me too.
Posted by: tu3031   2003-10-15 1:14:17 PM  

#9  Update from Boston.com - Paleos worry about US Retribution EFL:

JABALYA, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Palestinians said they feared retribution from the United States after three American security guards were killed in a bomb attack on a U.S. embassy convoy in the Gaza Strip Wednesday. The blast occurred on the edge of the large Jabalya refugee camp near Gaza City, a stronghold for Palestinian militants involved in a three-year-old uprising against Israel for statehood that began after U.S.-brokered peace talks collapsed.

"We wonder what (U.S. President George W.) Bush will do now," lamented Ahmed, a worried resident of Jabalya. "I guess he is mad at us."

The convoy targeted by a roadside bomb was heading to Gaza City where a cultural attache was due to interview Palestinian students hoping to receive scholarships for post-graduate studies in the United States, Palestinian officials said.

"They were coming to do interviews in order to evaluate candidates. I condemn the act completely and I believe all Palestinians are against it and reject it," said Reyad al-Agha, head of Gaza City's al-Azhar University.

"I do not know who was behind this but it certainly aimed ... to undermine and worsen the relationship between Palestinians and Americans," he told Reuters.

Militant groups denied responsibility for the bombing -- a rare attack on foreigners in the uprising -- and it was condemned by Palestinian officials including President Yasser Arafat, who said he had ordered an investigation.

A cord used to detonate the bomb stretched more than 330 feet away from the wreckage of the U.S. Chevrolet jeep toward a factory zone at the edge of the refugee camp.

"It (the bombing) could have happened by mistake. Maybe the target was Israeli tanks who frequently raid our areas. But we fear the U.S. will react through Israel's army," said Mohammed Mesleh, a municipal worker among onlookers at the bombing scene.

"The attack could have taken place because the United States has gone so far in its bias and support for Israel. America is not silent any more regarding Israeli policies against us, but a supporter of these policies," he said.

Palestinians often accuse the United States of taking Israel's side in the intractable Middle East conflict.


Posted by: Frank G   2003-10-15 12:55:17 PM  

#8   The gloves should come off right now. Fold up the road map, and lets get down to business. We've patsied around with Paleos for too long. Time to inject some real pain into the equation.
Posted by: Rex Mundi   2003-10-15 12:17:41 PM  

#7  Whack Rantissi. Now.

Go ahead, bright boys, poke the tiger with that stick again...
Posted by: mojo   2003-10-15 11:45:07 AM  

#6  Wire report via drudge:
U.S. citizens were ordered to leave the Gaza Strip following a deadly attack on a convoy of U.S. diplomats Wednesday, diplomatic sources said. Three Americans, apparently security guards for diplomats, were killed in the attack near the Palestinian town of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip. Several hours after the bombing, U.S. investigators were attacked by Palestinian stone throwers and sped away as their cars were pelted by rocks. Diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. citizens were asked to leave the volatile strip, but details of the order were not immediately available.
Posted by: seafarious   2003-10-15 11:29:28 AM  

#5  Hmmm let's see who has a track record of killing US Diplomats......winner is YASSER!
Posted by: Frank G   2003-10-15 10:16:32 AM  

#4  A sane policy would be to give the PA five days to brings us the heads of everyone in the responsible group -- involved or not, if they supported the group, we want their heads -- or risk a declaration of war against the PA itself.

Of course, the PA's not about to crack down on itself, and we lack the spine to actually deal with the PA once and for all, so the PA will get away with this.

Oh, and I bet the Syrians are the ones that asked for the attack. The press is trying to spin it as the result of our veto in the UNSC, but it takes more than a few hours to set one of these attacks up. This has been planned for a while.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2003-10-15 9:34:00 AM  

#3  So.....anyone still have any illusions about the value of that roadmap?
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2003-10-15 8:58:59 AM  

#2  translations:"We strongly condemn this incident...To bad,shame on them.

we will conduct an investigation and we will follow it to find the source of this attack,"...have to find out who did it to congratulate them,

"These are American monitors that have come here at our request.These people were here to help us."...Stupid gulliable Merkins(Gottcha agin,Charlie Brown).
Posted by: Raptor   2003-10-15 8:10:13 AM  

#1  Forgot to add: update to Murat's post.
Posted by: Bulldog   2003-10-15 7:14:00 AM  

00:00