A Crushing Attack in Jerusalem
A dangerously heavy frontloader was used for destruction, not construction.
Ynet also reported that the driver of the earthmover had a criminal record and was well-known to police.
A previously unknown organization called “Free People of the Galilee” telephoned the Palestinian news agency Maan, based in Bethlehem, to take responsibility for the attack, according to the Israeli media.
But police do not believe the organization, which claims to represent disgruntled Israeli-Arabs, actually exists.
At 2 p.m. Israel time, the chief of the Jerusalem police told reporters, as seen on Channel 10 (Hebrew link), that the man was suspected of being a lone wolf who committed the attack for no apparent reason. He was not suspected of having connections to any terror organization, but special units were nonetheless dispatched to comb his East Jerusalem neighborhood and interview residents.
Hamas predictably stated that the attack was the natural expression of rage against Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people, but did not claim responsibility for its execution.
But that doesn’t mean all was quiet in Gaza. Just as the pictures of the Jerusalem attack were first being broadcast on Israeli television, the news broke that thousands of Palestinians tried to storm the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
The effort was unsuccessful — the crowds were pushed back by Egyptian soldiers.
For a few minutes it felt as though Israel was again under attack from all sides, but the Israeli security services — never known to minimize possible danger when lives are at stake — continued to insist that the Jerusalem incident was not a terror attack.
As the dust settled, it became clear that the fragile ceasefire with Hamas-controlled Gaza would continue to hold for the time being, but there is no real sense of short-term security in the Wild Middle East — let alone long-term peace.
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Lisa Goldman is a freelance Canadian-Israeli journalist, who blogs at On the Face. She lives in Tel Aviv.
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12 Comments
1. Neo:The final revenge of Rachel Corrie.
Jul 2, 2008 - 7:19 am 2. mjk:Yep, Neo, nothing like going to a market to kill and maim a bunch of Jews because of some stupid kid who tried to save terrorists’ houses from destruction. Because we all know that them Jews just ask to be blown to smithereens by simply existing. Idiot.
Good on the IDF officer for stopping this guy. The carnage would have been unthinkable without his quick-thinking.
Of course, some people probably think, wow, more dead Jews. Hooray!
Jul 2, 2008 - 8:10 am 3. Aviv:Hat’s off for a timely, comprehensive account of the attack… Many blogs and MSM have yet to pick up on it
Jul 2, 2008 - 8:20 am 4. Lisa:One more piece of evidence that we cannot let our holiest city be shared with those people.
Jerusalem belongs to Israel, now and forever, complete and undivided.
Jul 2, 2008 - 8:23 am 5. Lisa:Neo…
How can you possibly equate the deliberate murder of several innocent people and attempted murder of dozens more with the accidental death of a terrorist supporting woman who had foolishly put herself in the path of a moving bulldozer but out of its sight?
Jul 2, 2008 - 8:24 am 6. Grant:Thats a front-end loader, not a bulldozer.
Jul 2, 2008 - 10:19 am 7. Believer:Clearly an act of evil. And still there are those who fail to see it. What produces such evil? This lie, perhaps:
“…the natural expression of rage against Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people…”
Our nation has a faction of its population being taught a similar lie of “oppression.” By “men of God.” Men who openly hate Israel and America. The Jew and Whitey. Men who prefer terrorists to peacemakers.
And one who supported those views with his presence and pocketbook for two decades wants to be President of the United States.
I say we recognize evil now. Today, they only destroy themselves with their evil. Tomorrow, it will be visited upon us all.
Jul 2, 2008 - 10:20 am 8. Cletus:How is the ceasefire “fragile”? It has already been broken by the palestinians. Just because Israel hasn’t retaliated yet does not mean the ceasefire is still holding. It was broken a week ago.
Jul 2, 2008 - 2:54 pm 9. rotwang:Thanks to Grant for pointing out that it ain’t a damned bulldozer.
And pity for the rest of you who don’t quite grok the irony of this.
Neither side has clean hands. But now they both have Caterpillers. And on it goes.
Neo doesn’t hate Jews or America. He just has a refined appreciation of the obvious. And symmetry.
Jul 2, 2008 - 5:46 pm 10. rocketeer:There is fairly simple truth in the basic facts. If the Jews gave up their weapons tomorrow, there would be genocide, if the Palestinians gave up their weapons tomorrow, there would be peace in the Mideast. What else do you need to know? Everything else is smoke and mirrors.
Jul 3, 2008 - 5:39 am 11. Terrorist Attack In Jerusalem « The Home of Atilla:[...] on this event here Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Political Ramifications Of The Terrorist Attack At [...]
Jul 3, 2008 - 5:55 am 12. me:Amazing footage of the start of the terrorist scums trip to hell. (The ever incompetent BBC calls it a bulldozer).
The shooter is an off duty Israli soldier. Hero.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7485022.stm
Jul 3, 2008 - 7:54 am