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A bloody shoe from one of the Israeli boys killed in the terrorist shooting attack near the Jewish settlement of Beit Haggai, south of Hebron. (AP)
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06/26
Ynetnews |
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06/26
Ynetnews |
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners June 26, 2005 |
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Aviad Mantsur, 16, who sustained critical injuries in Friday's shooting attack at a Judea-Samaria junction near Beit Haggai, died from his wounds at Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein-Kerem hospital Sunday morning.
Mantsur's friend, Avichai Levy, 17, was also murdered in the attack. His funeral procession will get under way Sunday afternoon. Funeral participants are planning to pass by the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, wearing orange shirts, to protest against the pullout and against goodwill gestures to the Palestinians.
Mantsur, who was taken to hospital in very serious condition and had to be resuscitated en route to Hadassah, battled for his life over the weekend, but his condition took several turns for the worse and eventually he succumbed to his wounds.
A relative of Mantsur, Yochai Damari, said the boy was able to call his parents after the attack and tell them what had happened. "He ran away and hid from the shooting, but sustained many shots to his lower body," Damari said.
Mantsur's father stayed at the hospital praying for his son over the weekend, to no avail. Sunday morning, the father returned alone to the family home.
On Friday, terrorist gunmen shot at the group of teenaged hitchhikers as they were getting into a car near Beit Haggai, a Jewish settlement just south of the West Bank city of Hebron, the army said.
Two people inside the Israeli car were also lightly wounded by gunfire, said Maj. Sharon Asman. Initially the army said an Israeli was wounded in a second shooting incident, but Asman said there was only one attack.
"This is another example that the terrorist groups are trying to break the truce," Asman said. "We will continue our operations against the terrorists."
According to Judea Brigade Commander Colonel Moti Baruch, the terrorists took advantage of the easing of restrictions on Palestinian movement in the southern Mount Hebron area.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades -- a militant group with links to Abbas' ruling Fatah movement -- claimed responsibility for the shooting attack, a member of the group told The Associated Press in a telephone call.
Last week, Israel announced that it is renewing its policy of hunting down and killing terrorists. Meanwhile, the Islamic Jihad militant group threatened to launch fresh attacks, and the Palestinian Authority has refused to give in to Israeli and U.S. pressure to disarm terrorists. Abbas prefers to co-opt the militants, fearing civil war if he pursues a crackdown.
The latest violence could cause Israel to reconsider a recent promise to give the Palestinians control over two additional West Bank towns; the truce deal in February included an Israeli pledge to hand over five towns, only two of which have been delivered.
"Continued acts of Palestinian terrorism demonstrate to everyone the necessity that the Palestinian Authority fulfill its obligation to the international community and start effective and ongoing measures against the terrorist organizations who are trying to destroy any chance of reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians," said Mark Regev, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman.
The attack near Hebron came as Palestinian police swept through Jenin in a hunt for terrorists who killed a Palestinian police officer Thursday while shooting at a police station.
After the late-night attacks, dozens of police, some in jeeps, some on foot, cordoned off parts of the town. Abbas called the dead policeman's family to express his condolences and pledged to arrest those responsible. The policeman's family said he would not be buried until the terrorists were rounded up.
During an arrest raid early Friday, a terrorist holed up in a building fired on dozens of Palestinian police officers who came to arrest him. A 10-minute gunbattle ensued, with officers crouching behind buildings and inside houses, before police stormed the terrorist's hiding place and arrested him. No one was injured.
Throughout the day another nine terrorists were arrested without incident, said Jenin Police Chief Majid Howari. But the man believed to have lead the attack, Said Amin -- a member of Al Aqsa -- remained at large.
"I would like to assure the people of the town that those involved will be punished and the killers must be killed," Howari said.
Zakariye Zubeydi, the local Al Aqsa leader, said his movement was not involved in the attacks. Later Friday, Zubeydi went to the town hall to offer his assistance in capturing the rest of the gunmen.
Zubeydi is the best-known of the local gang leaders who have taken control of West Bank streets and refugee camps during four years of Palestinian-Israeli violence. In March, Zubeydi stared down Palestinian Interior Minister Nasser Yousef, who had ordered his arrest during a visit to Jenin but quickly relented.
The AP contributed to this report.
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