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ZAKA rescue workers approach car hit in Palestinian shooting attack (ZAKA)
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| By Israel Insider staff November 19, 2007 |
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| Zoldan z'l with his wife and son (Courtesy) |
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Ido Zoldan, 28, was killed late Monday evening in a shooting attack near the village of Funduk, between the communities of Kedumim and Karnei Shomron in north Samaria, when Palestinian gunmen in a passing car opened fire, mortally wounding him with a volley of automatic fire.
Security forces pursued the assailants, who fled the scene in the direction of nearby Palestinian villages. Zoldan, a father of two, and an officer in the paratroop brigade, was a resident of the settlement of Shavei Shomron.
The Al-Aksa Martyrs' Bridage terror, which operates as part of Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization, claimed credit for the attack. A statement from the group said the shooting came in protest of the upcoming Annapolis peace summit and the "crimes of Israel against the Palestinians."
Israel has not demanded an end to attacks or the dismantling of terror groups prior to pre-Annapolis concessions.
Riad Malki, the Palestinian minister of information and foreign affairs, said Abbas' West Bank-based government viewed the killing of the settler as an isolated attack that didn't reflect on the Palestinian security plan and shouldn't compromise peace efforts, Haaretz reported.
Opposition politicians blamed the government's concessionist policies for Monday's terror attack. "The prime minister is indulging in delusions in going to the Annapolis conference during a difficult hour on the battlefield," MK Reuven Rivlin (Likud) said. "The prime mininster's concessions are the cause of such terror attacks."
"The murder is an ill omen symbolizing what awaits all of us following the release of hundreds of terrorists, which the government decided upon," MK Uri Ariel (NU\NRP) said. "The government illustrates how gestures to the Palestinians are reckless and irresponsible measures."
The Committee of Rabbis of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip in a statement on Tuesday also blamed the government for Zoldan's death. "The Israeli government and all of its ministers bear responsibility for the murder of the holy man Ido Zoldan. The Arab enemy understands only force and dedication such as those possessed by Zoldan and his pioneering companions. And not the weakness and submissiveness of the Israeli government".
Israel Radio quoted a statement released by the Homesh First group in which the organization writes that "Releasing terrorists and arming them prepared the ground for the attack." Zoldan was among those uprooted from Homesh during the 2005 disengagement, and served as an activist in the organization which advocates a return to the settlement and has organized several marches to its ruins.
MK Efi Eitam (NU/NRP) congratulated Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen Gabi Ashkenazi for not having "tainted the IDF with the release of murderers," referring to Ashkenazi's reported objection to Monday's cabinet decision to free Palestinian prisoners to Gaza.
Eitam added that the consequences of the government's decision could be seen "this morning," referring to the attack that claimed the life of Zoldan.
Leftwing Knesset members were outraged at the referece. MK Ran Cohen (Meretz) responded immediately to Eitam. "There is no need to put the words of the extreme right in the mouth of the Chief of Staff. I advise against holding a press conference here," he said. Turning to Ashkenazi, he added: "I suggest we see if these MKs will address you in the same manner when the IDF evacuates settlements."
The left-wingers called for more "confidence-building measures." MK Haim Oron (Meretz) called for a continued dialogue with the Palestinians, despite the terror attack. "On numerous occasions the struggle with the Palestinians has given rise to terror against us," he said. "But we must continue to hold dialogue with the moderate Palestinians." |
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