Israel imposes West Bank restrictions
Israel slapped tough travel restrictions on the West Bank after Palestinian gunmen killed three young Israelis and wounded four others in a drive-by shooting at a crowded bus stop near Jewish settlements.
The Palestinian attack near the Gush Etzion block of settlements yesterday was the bloodiest since July, and it followed warnings from Isaeli intelligence that with Israel’s pullout from Gaza last month, Palestinian militants would shift their focus to the West Bank.
Minutes after the bus stop attack, militants carried out a second drive-by shooting, targeting an Israeli vehicle in the another part of the West Bank, seriously wounding an Israeli, officials said.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a militant group loosely affiliated with the ruling Fatah party, claimed responsibility for the shooting in a statement.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned the shootings, saying they damaged the positive atmosphere created by Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last month.
“These attacks are very unfortunate and are attempts to undermine efforts to revive the peace process,” Erekat said.
Israel responded with tough new measures limiting movement in the West Bank, security officials said.
Exits from Bethlehem and Hebron will be blocked, Palestinian cars will be banned from main West Bank roads and arrests raids will be stepped up, the officials said.
Soldiers also arrested 19 Palestinian wanted men in the West Bank overnight, the military said.
The decisions to restrict movement in the West Bank were made at high-level consultations led by Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz. They reversed a relaxing of restrictions implemented since the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan two weeks ago, restoring limitations that crippled the Palestinian economy and caused widespread hardships during five years of Palestinian-Israeli violence. Since a February cease-fire, Palestinian attacks have dropped and Israeli restrictions eased.
The officials said the new measures would be in effect for the long term.
“Israel removed roadblocks and made a number of humanitarian gestures to ease up on the Palestinians,” said David Baker, an official in the office of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. “It’s unfortunate the Palestinians have exploited these measures to carry out these murderous attacks.”
As part of the measures, Mofaz decided to cancel all co-ordination meetings between Israeli and Palestinian forces, Israel Radio reported.
Israel has not yet informed the Palestinians if meetings later this month to work out a resumption of peacemaking would be held as planned, Erekat said.
Israel has demanded the Palestinians dismantle militant groups if it wants to restart peace talks. “The Palestinian Authority has to move from the talking stage to the action stage,” Mofaz said. “We will not be able to continue in this process if the Palestinian Authority does not start taking concrete actions against the terror groups.”
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has ruled out such a crackdown, saying it would start a civil war. His policy of using negotiation and persuasion, rather than force, to stop militant attacks has achieved only mixed results.
The attacks were meant to undermine Abbas, Erekat said. The bloodshed weakens Abbas ahead of a meeting later this week with US President George Bush and Palestinian parliamentary elections planned for January, he said.
In the first attack, militants racing by the Gush Etzion junction in a car opened fire at Israelis waiting at a bus stop and at others in nearby cars.
Israeli rescue services said one Israeli died at the scene and two others died in the hospital. Two were young women, cousins aged 23 and 21, from a nearby settlement, and the other was a 15-year-old boy, Israel TV said.
The ground at the shooting site was covered in blood, and a large number of police and soldiers searched the area. One soldier straightened up the bags, cameras and other belongings of the victims.
The second attack took place near the settlement of Eli in the northern area of the West Bank, relatively far from the first shooting. Rescue services said one Israeli was seriously wounded.
Violence between Israel and the Palestinians drastically decreased in recent months after the two sides agreed to an informal truce in February.
The shooting yesterday was the deadliest attack on Israelis since a July 12 suicide bombing in the northern Israeli town of Netanya killed five Israelis.
Also yesterday, Israeli troops killed an Islamic Jihad militant in the northern West Bank.
Palestinian hospital officials said Nihad Abu Ghanim, 27, died after being shot in the head, abdomen and chest. A bystander was seriously wounded. Abu Ghanim was the top Islamic Jihad militant in Burkin, a village outside the town of Jenin.
The army said Abu Ghanim was killed when Israeli troops spotted an armed Palestinian. The man shot at them and they returned fire, killing him, the army said.
A Palestinian witness said two Israeli vehicles drove up to Abu Ghanim as he was driving down the road, and shot him.
