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| Middle East |
| Seven killed in Paleostinian bus ambush |
| 2002-07-16 |
| Palestinians wearing Israeli army uniforms detonated a roadside bomb near an armored bus Tuesday and then sprayed automatic fire at Israeli civilians as they fled near a West Bank settlement, authorities and witnesses said. Seven people were killed and more than a dozen wounded. The gunmen fled the scene and were being pursued by army helicopters. Disguising yourself using the other side's uniform is grounds for being shot, if you're one of those into the intricacies of military custom and international law. It was the first deadly attack on Israeli civilians since June 20 and came hours before representatives of the so-called ''Quartet'' committee - including the United States, Russia, European Union and United Nations - met in New York to discuss ways of ending more than 21 months of violence. It's not the first deadly attack for want of trying on the part of the Paleostinians, of course. The Quartet meeting is the reason they had to bring something off... Medics who rushed to the entrance of the Emmanuel settlement in the northern West Bank quoted the wounded as saying that after the initial explosion, several smaller ones went off, followed by shooting, Israel Radio said. The witnesses said the attackers, about three in all, were dressed in Israel army uniforms and opened fire as the bus passengers tried to escape. The gunmen fled in the direction of Nablus, the report said. So first they blew a mine at a civilian bus, then shot the passengers as they tried to get to safety. Not being a liberal, the words "war crime" seldom pass my lips, er... fingers, but in this case... FOLLOWUP: "Basically we see that nothing has changed. Anytime that the Palestinians see that there is some chance for progress in the peace process, this is what they do," said Arye Mekel, another government spokesman. Is there an echo in here? Is there an echo in here? In separate statements, the military wings of Fatah and Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. Tuesday's attack was similar to an ambush, placed by a Hamas member, on a bus outside Emmanuel last December in which 10 Israelis were killed. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |