 |
Contents:
Was Disengagement Plan Formulated to Escape Sharon Corruption Probe?
Disengagement Plan Formulated to Escape Sharon Corruption Probe Two veteran journalists, based on talks with persons very close to the Prime Minister, say that the Disengagement Plan was hatched up simply to avoid Sharon's indictment in the Greek Island scandal. Journalists Raviv Drucker of Channel Ten TV and Ofer Shelach of Yediot Acharonot newspaper appeared on Nissim Mishal's Channel Two television program last night and summarized the results of their research. The main findings:
Click here to view the 7-minute Channel Two TV segment - in Hebrew (or right click and select "Save Target As " to download) Drucker and Shelach said that Sharon's fear of State Prosecutor Arbel was a determining factor in making this plan. "If not for the interrogations, this historic decision would not have been made," they said. "This can be seen by the timetable of events in February 2004" - the appointment of Gen. Eiland to begin working on the plan, the appointment of Meni Mazuz as Attorney General, a summons to Sharon for police interrogation, the rumors that Arbel was about to indict him, and finally the meeting of the Farm Forum [Sharon, his sons and one or two others very close to the Prime Minister]. This Farm Forum "did not state it outright," Drucker said, "but it was in the air that something had to be done, that there had to be some major diplomatic process that would swallow up everything and would change the public agenda [away from the corruption headlines against Sharon] - and they came up with this plan." In answer to a question, Shelach said, "The people who are closest to Sharon told us absolutely that if it wasn't for those police interrogations, this decision [to quit Gaza] would not have been made. This can be seen by the timetable of events . . . " Drucker and Shelach further found that top Sharon-aide Dov Weisglass (pictured) led the way in preparing the disengagement plan, particularly in a private meeting with Condoleeza Rice in December 2003, and that those in the army and government who could have helped improve the plan for Israel were left out of the decision-making loop. "[National Security Advisor] Giora Eiland was in the midst of preparing a plan as to how Israel could get some benefit from its withdrawal," they said, "when suddenly he was presented with this new [unilateral] plan - and even now he objects to the plan [as it now stands]." Narrator Nissim Mishal noted that the image of Prime Minister Sharon as depicted in the new book, entitled Boomerang, does not jibe with the common perception of him as strong and determined. "Instead," he said, "your book portrays him as one who is scared of police interrogations and led along by the Farm Forum and [top Sharon-aide] Duby Weisglass." Raviv Drucker responded, "We too were surprised by what we found. One government minister told us, 'This is the weakest Prime Minister I have seen, and I have seen many Prime Ministers.' The point is that Sharon is very strong at enforcing his decisions, but is weak at making decisions; he has no spine of his own today, and the best example of this is Duby Weisglass and the disengagement plan . . . "Sharon wanted only to survive politically. Weisglass led the whole plan. In October 2003, before the plan had started, Weisglass asked staffers in the Prime Minister's Bureau for data on Gaza because he said he felt we had to withdraw from Gaza. Sharon did not yet agree then - but he would come around later. At that time, Weisglass also started spreading hints to other people that if Sharon didn't agree to this plan, he would end up leaving the political arena as an 'insignificant old man.' Weisglass also started pressuring [Defense Minister Sha'ul] Mofaz at this time. But more than anything - Weisglass felt that he had the right key to persuade Sharon." Drucker's colleague Ofer Shelach continued: "When Sharon arrived in office, he didn't know what to do; he was great in tactics, but had no strategy - not on the personal level, and not on the diplomatic-international level. He just doesn't know what to do. Don't forget: after two years in office, he finds himself - the great terror-fighter Arik Sharon - with the highest amount of terror victims ever. And Weisglass - together with the Farm Forum, but mainly Weisglass - takes advantage of this to lead Sharon [by the nose] . . . "In December '03, after Sharon's Herzliya speech introducing the disengagement concept but when this plan was still very vague - in fact, Sharon was still asking the Defense Minister and the Chief of Staff what they thought about taking down just one or two communities - Weisglass goes to Washington all by himself - without his Military Secretary Moshe Kaplinsky or National Security Advisor Giora Eiland, who usually accompany him - and speaks to then-U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice privately. Very senior army officials told us that this was the trip in which Weisglass made the following offer: In the first stage, we would quit Gaza, in the second stage there would be a deep withdrawal from Judea and Samaria, and in the third stage we'd even be willing to talk about the '67 lines. "The important thing to note is that from that moment, there is no contact with those elements who were supposed to help Sharon decide about the plan, figure out what Israel would get in return, and help Israel get the best deal it could. And from that moment, the plan essentially rolls along on its own." Shelach and Drucker revealed that Sharon sought out a top IDF general to be a mole in the IDF General Staff. The authors refused to divulge the name of the general whom Sharon asked to be his "plant." They said, "The general himself told us that Sharon asked him to agree to report back to him on the goings-on in the General Staff . . . All along, Sharon was unhappy with the army, and always tried to form direct channels of communication [in this way] . . . " They said that many top officers, such as former Chief of Staff Mofaz, Intelligence Chief Ze'evi-Farkash, and others, were originally very much against the disengagement plan. "Several months before Sharon's adoption of the Disengagement Plan, there was a deliberation amidst the top brass of the IDF in the presence of the Chief of Staff. Many options were presented. One of the options was unilateral disengagement from Gaza. There was unanimous agreement regarding the idea: absolutely no. Mofaz said at the beginning, 'Whoever supports a unilateral retreat, apparently wasn't here for the last two and a half years,' and Farkash said it would be a catastrophe, and the head of IDF Research said it would be the worst thing . . . but after several months, when they saw that Sharon was so strongly in favor, they amazingly all fell in line and backed it . . . " "We have a very biting claim," Drucker concluded. "In the past four and a half years, there were many opportunities to end or change the course of the intifada, but because of the way decisions were made, these chances were missed, and the bottom line - it's terrible to say - is that there were many people who were killed [by terrorists during the Oslo War] in vain."
PA Media Today:
The main message of the PA media-given through statements of Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Qudwa and some spare comments from PLO Chairman Abbas-is that the PA insists on total Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian lands. [SEE Dahlan interview below] The same point has been made in daily interviews on Voice of Palestine radio by Saeb 'Arikat, the PLO's chief negotiator and former PA minister. Al-Qudwa and 'Arikat have been insisting on total release of Palestinian prisoners and Israel's ceasing all proceedings against "wanted men." PBC television and Voice of Palestine (V.O.P.) radio aired segments of Abbas's speech at the Doha conference ( aired Thursday and Friday) blaming Israel for Palestinian failures to achieve prosperity and democracy. [PBC showed long shots of friendly meetings between Abbas and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shar'a, and it featured the Doha Conference criticism of American "pressure" on Syria.] The Palestinian view of disengagement---PBC television - Muhammad Dahlan, PA minister, in charge of Gaza In a lengthy statement on camera, Abbas's point man in Gaza, Muhammad Dahlan, insisted that the PA regarded the Israeli disengagement as incomplete unless it included turning over port, airport and "safe route" facilities to the PA. "Mr. Dahlan said the Israeli withdrawal had the potential for success or for a catastrophe for the region in its entirety," declared the PBC Anchorwoman [PBC June 16 EVENING]. Dahlan: "If this Israeli withdrawal includes all the elements we have spoken about with the international community, then the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank will head, rise up, I believe, to a new direction. And this means the Rafah Crossing, the transfer points between us and the West Bank, the Safe Passage Overland Route, Mina (port), the airport-all these essential elements. And if Israel agrees to these points, then there's an opportunity for the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank for prosperity, development and a new way. But if Israel looks at the withdrawal as merely a redeployment of its forces, without giving us Mina, the airport, and without giving us freedom of movement to the West Bank, without letting us trade and exchange goods with the West Bank-not Israel-then that means that Israel wanted a redeployment in order to place Gaza under siege."
Palestinian Television In its film montages, PBC television is beginning to go back to the use of sharp and short propaganda clips occasionally [reminiscent of the Arafat era] -such as a clip designed to boost physical confrontation with Israeli soldiers at the "racist bloody fence"-as the various Israeli barriers are commonly called in the PA media. This film-a two-minute montage-is usually shown before or after the news programs, and it features shots of demonstrators pushing soldiers, striking with poles or throwing rocks. The camera holds on a close-up of a bit of grafitti painted on a wall: "Sharon Knows Only War"-written in English. Afterwards, Arabic words remain on the screen: "This Wall Shall Fall." Background Analysis The continuing concern about internal Palestinian violence re-surfaced briefly in PBC and V.O.P. reports about PA Prime Minister Ahmad Qreia's remarks at commencement ceremonies at Al-Najah University in Nablus. Qreia called for an end to "security anarchy." Items of this kind have appeared on the front pages of the newspapers, but they are generally at the bottom of the line-up on radio and tv. But this time, the clip on PBC television included several sharp remarks from Qreia, dressed in traditional university gown, in which he hinted broadly at resignation of his government. "This state has no future with a continuation of anarchy," Qreia concluded.
Israel's Vice Prime Minister
Peres Approves Provision of "Light Weapons" to an Entity at War
With Israel.
www.mfa.gov.il 1993 October 24 93 Two IDF soldiers, Staff Sgt. (res.) Ehud Rot, age 35, and Sgt. Ilan Levi, age 23, were killed by a HAMAS Iz a-Din al Kassam squad. The two entered a Subaru with Israeli license plates outside a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip, whose passengers were apparently terrorists disguised as Israelis. Following a brief struggle, the soldiers were shot at close range and killed. Hamas publicly claimed responsibility for the attack. November 7 93 Efraim Ayubi of Kfar Darom, Rabbi Chaim Druckman's personal driver, was shot to death by terrorists near Hebron. HAMAS publicly claimed responsibility for the murder. December 1 93 Shalva Ozana, age 23, and Yitzhak Weinstock, age 19, were shot to death by terrorists from a moving vehicle, while parked on the side of the road to Ramallah because of engine trouble. Weinstock died of his wounds the following morning. Iz a-Din al Kassam claimed responbility for the attack, stating that it was carried out in retaliation for the killing by Israeli forces of Imad Akel, a wanted HAMAS leader in Gaza. December 5 93 David Mashrati, a reserve soldier, was shot and killed by a terrorist attempting to board a bus on route 641 at the Holon junction. The Islamic Jihad Shekaki gorup claimed responsibility for the attack. December 6 93 Mordechai Lapid and his son Shalom Lapid, age 19, were shot to death by terrorists near Hebron. HAMAS publicly claimed responsibility for the attack. December 22 93 Eliahu Levin and Meir Mendelovitch were killed by shots fired at their car from a passing vehicle in the Ramallah area. HAMAS claimed responsibility. December 24 93 Lieut.Col. Meir Mintz, commander of the IDF special forces in the Gaza area, was shot and killed by terrorists in an ambush on his jeep at the T-junction in Gaza. The HAMAS Iz a-Din al Kassam squads publicly claimed responsibility for the attack. February 13 94 Noam Cohen, age 28, member of the General Security Service, was shot and killed in an ambush on his car. Two of his colleagues who were also in the vehicle suffered moderate injuries. HAMAS claimed responsibility for the attack. February 19 94 Zipora Sasson, resident of Ariel and five months pregnant, was killed on the trans-Samaria highway in an ambush by shots fired at her car. The terrorists were members of HAMAS. March 23 94 Victor Lashchiver, employed as a guard at the Income Tax offices in East Jerusalem, was shot and killed near Damascus Gate on his way to work. The Popular Front claimed responsibility for the attack. April 7 94 Yishai Gadassi, age 32 of Kvutzat Yavne, was shot and killed at a hitchhiking post at the Ashdod junction by a member of HAMAS. The terrorist was killed by bystanders at the scene. May 17 94 Rafael Yairi (Klumfenbert), 36, of Kiryat Arba, and Margalit Ruth Shohat, 48, of Ma'ale Levona, were killed when their car was fired upon by by terrorists in a passing car near Beit Haggai, south of Hebron. May 20 94 Staff Sgt. Moshe Bukra, 30, and Cpl. Erez Ben-Baruch, 24, were shot dead by HAMAS terrorists at a roadblock one kilometer south of the Erez checkpoint in the Gaza Strip. July 7 94 Sarit Prigal, 17, was shot to death when terrorists opened fire from a passing car near the entrance to Kiryat Arba. July 19 94 Lt. Guy Ovadia, 23, of Kibbutz Yotvata, was fatally wounded in an ambush near Rafiah. HAMAS took responsibility for the attack, saying it was "a response to the massacre at the Erez checkpoint". July 25 94 Border policeman Sgt.-Maj. Jacques Attias, 24, died of his wounds after being shot by Palestinian policemen during the riots at Erez checkpoint on July 17. August 14 94 Ron Soval, 18, of Lehavim, north of Beersheba, was shot to death in an ambush near Kissufim junction in the Gaza Strip. HAMAS claimed responsibility for the attack. September 4 94 Sgt. Victor Shichman, 24, was killed at the Morag junction in the southern Gaza Strip while on patrol, from shots fired from a vehicle bearing Palestinian license plates. November 19 94 Sgt.-Maj. Gil Dadon, 26, of Bat Yam, was killed at the army post at Netzarim junction by shots fired from a passing car. HAMAS claimed responsibility for the attack. November 27 94 Rabbi Amiran Olami, 34, of Otniel was killed near Beit Hagai 10 kms south of Hebron by shots fired from a passing car. January 6 95 Ofra Felix, 20, of Beit El, a university student, was killed when terrorists opened fire on her car north of Beit El. February 6 95 Yevgeny Gromov, 32, of Ashkelon, a security guard, was killed when terrorists opened fire from a passing car on the Gaza bypass road between Jabalya and Gaza City, as he was escorting a gasoline truck to a Gaza Strip filling station. March 19 95 Nahum Hoss, 32, of Hebron and Yehuda Fartush, 41, of Kiryat Arba, were killed when terrorists fired on an Egged bus near the entrance to Hebron. January 16 96 Sgt. Yaniv Shimel and Major Oz Tibon, both of Jerusalem, were killed when terrorists fired on their car on the Hebron-Jerusalem road. May 14 96 David Boim, 17, a yeshiva high school student in Beit El, was killed when terrorists fired at students at a hitchhiking post at Beil El, near Ramallah. June 9 96 Yaron (26) and Efrat (25) Unger, of Kiryat Arba, were killed when terrorists fired on their car near Beit Shemesh. June 16 96 First-Sgt. Meir Alush, 40, an off-duty policeman, was shot and killed in a toy store in the village of Bidiya. June 26 96 Staff Sgt. (Res.) Asher Berdugo, 22, of Kiryat Bialik; Sgt. Ashraf Shibli, 20, of Shibli; and Cpl. (Res.) Ya'acov Turgeman of Rishon Lezion were killed in an ambush along the Jordan River north of Jericho by terrorists who infiltrated from Jordan.
July 26 96 Uri Munk, 53, and his daughter-in-law, Rachel Munk, 24, of Moshav
Mevo Betar, were killed in a drive-by shooting attack near Beit Shemesh. December 11 96 Etta Tzur, 48, and her son Ephraim, 12, were killed when their car was shot at by terrorists near Surda, west of Beit El. November 19 97 Gabriel Hirschberg, 26, was killed by automatic gunfire in the Old City of Jerusalem. January 6 98 Yael Meivar, 25, died of gunshot wounds sustained in a terrorist attack on December 31, 1997 near the settlement of Alei Zahav in Samaria. August 5 98 Harel Bin-Nun, 18, and Shlomo Liebman, 24, were shot and killed in an ambush by terrorists while on patrol at the Yizhar settlement in Samaria. October 14 98 Itamar Doron, 24, was shot to death near Moshav Ora, outside Jerusalem. October 26 98 Danny Vargas, 29, of Kiryat Arba was shot to death in Hebron. January 13 99 Sergeant Yehoshua Gavriel, 25, of Ashdod, was killed when terrorists opened fire at the Othniel junction near Hebron. August 7 99 The body of an Israeli, shot in the head, was found in a burned vehicle. September 29, 2000 - Border Police Supt. Yosef Tabeja, 27, of Ramle was shot to death by his Palestinian counterpart on a joint patrol near Kalkilya. October 1, 2000 - Border Police Cpl. Madhat Yusuf, 19, of Beit Jann, died of gunshot wounds sustained in a gun battle with Palestinians at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus.
October 2, 2000 - Wichlav Zalsevsky, 24, of Ashdod, was shot in the head in the
village of Masha on the trans-Samaria highway. October 8, 2000 - The bullet-riddled body of Hillel Lieberman, 36, of Elon Moreh was found at the southern entrance to Nablus.
October 19, 2000 - Rabbi Binyamin Herling, 64, of Kedumim, was killed when Fatah
members and Palestinian security forces opened fire on a group of Israeli
men, women, and children on a trip at Mount Ebal near Nablus.
Amos Machlouf, 30, of the Gilo neighborhood in Jerusalem, was found murdered in a ravine near Beit Jala. November 1, 2000 - Lt. David-Hen Cohen, 21, of Karmiel and Sgt. Shlomo Adshina, 20, of Kibbutz Ze'elim were killed in a shooting incident in the Al-Hader area, near Bethlehem. November 8, 2000 - Noa Dahan, 25, of Moshav Mivtahim in the south, was shot to death while driving to her job at the Rafah border crossing in Gaza. November 10, 2000 - Sgt. Shahar Vekret, 20, of Lod was fatally shot by a Palestinian sniper near Rachel's Tomb at the entrance to Bethlehem. November 11, 2000 - Sgt. 1st Class Avner Shalom, 28, of Eilat, was killed in a shooting attack at the Gush Katif junction in the Gaza Strip. November 13, 2000 - Sarah Leisha, 42, of Neveh Tzuf was killed by gunfire from a passing car while travelling near Ofra, north of Ramallah. Cpl. Elad Wallenstein, 18, of Ashkelon, and Cpl. Amit Zanna, 19, of Netanya were killed by gunfire from a car passing the military bus carrying them near Ofra. November 13, 2000 - Gabi Zaghouri, 36, of Netivot was killed by gunfire directed at the truck he was driving near the Kissufim junction in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. November 18, 2000 - St.-Sgt. Baruch (Snir) Flum, 21, of Tel-Aviv was shot and killed by a senior Palestinian Preventive Security Service officer who infiltrated the Kfar Darom greenhouses in the Gaza Strip. St.-Sgt. Sharon Shitoubi, 21, of Ramle, wounded in the Palestinan shooting attack in Kfar Darom, died of his wounds on November 20. November 21, 2000 - Itamar Yefet, 18, of Netzer Hazani died from a gunshot wound to the head by Palestinian sniper fire at the Gush Katif junction. November 23, 2000 - Sgt. Samar Hussein, 19, of Hurfeish, was killed when Palestinian snipers opened fire at soldiers patrolling the border fence near the Erez crossing. November 24, 2000 - Maj. Sharon Arameh, 25, of Ashkelon was killed by Palestinian sniper fire in fighting near Neve Dekalim in the Gaza Strip. November 24, 2000 - Ariel Jeraffi, 40, of Petah Tikva, a civilian employed by the IDF, was killed by Palestinian fire as he travelled near Otzarin in the West Bank. December 8, 2000 - Rina Didovsky, 39, a Beit Hagai school teacher on her way to work, and Eliyahu Ben-Ami, 41, of Otniel, the driver of the van, were killed when a car full of gunmen opened fire on the van near Kiryat Arba. December 8, 2000 - Sgt. Tal Gordon, 19, was killed when gunmen in a passing car opened fire on an Egged bus traveling south from Tiberias to Jerusalem on the Jericho bypass road. December 21, 2000 - Eliahu Cohen, 29, of Modi'in was shot and killed tonight by Palestinian terrorists waiting in ambush on the road between Givat Ze'ev and Beit Horon. December 31, 2000 - Binyamin Zeev Kahane, the son of the late right-wing leader Meir Kahane, and his wife, Talia, were killed when Palestinian snipers opened fire while they were driving on the Ramallah bypass road. Five of their children, aged two months to 10 years, were injured. January 14, 2001 - The bullet-ridden body of Ron Tzalah, 32, of Kfar Yam in Gush Katif, apparently killed on Sunday night (January 14), was found the following morning near the Kfar Yam hothouses. January 17, 2001 - Ofir Rahum, 16, of Ashkelon, traveled to Jerusalem to meet a young woman with whom he had conducted a relationship over the Internet. She then drove him toward Ramallah. At a prearranged location, another vehicle drove up and three Palestinian gunmen inside shot Rahum more than 15 times. One terrorist drove off with Rahum's body and dumped it, while the others fled in the second vehicle. January 25, 2001 - Akiva Pashkos, 45, of Jerusalem, was shot dead in a terror attack near the Atarot industrial zone north of Jerusalem. January 29, 2001 - Arye Hershkowitz, 55, of Ofra, was killed by shots fired from a passing car near the Rama junction north of Jerusalem. February 1, 2001 - Dr. Shmuel Gillis, 42, of Carmei Tzur, was killed by Palestinian gunmen who fired at his car near the Aroub refugee camp on the Jerusalem-Hebron highway. February 1, 2001 - Lior Attiah, 23, of Afula was shot to death by terrorists while traveling near Jenin. February 5, 2001 - St.-Sgt. Rujayah Salameh, 23, was killed by sniper fire near Rafah. February 11, 2001 - Tzachi Sasson, 35, of Kibbutz Rosh Tzurim in Gush Etzion, was shot and killed by Palestinian gunmen as he drove home from Jerusalem. March 19, 2001 - Baruch Cohen, 59, of Efrat, was killed by shots fired at his car while driving to work in Jerusalem from his home in the Gush Etzion area. After being hit by bullets, he lost control of the car and collided with an oncoming truck. March 26, 2001 - Shalhevet Pass, age 10 months, was killed by sniper fire at the entrance to the Avraham Avinu neighborhood in Hebron. April 2, 2001 - Sgt. Danny Darai, 20, of Arad, was killed by a Palestinian sniper after completing guard duty at Rachel's Tomb at the entrance to Bethlehem. April 28, 2001 - Sgt. Shlomo Elmakias, 20, of Netanya, was killed and four women passengers wounded in a drive-by terrorist shooting attack on the Wadi Ara highway in the Galilee. May 1, 2001 - Assaf Hershkowitz, 30, of Ofra, was killed when his vehicle was fired upon and overturned at a junction between Ofra and Beit El. May 15, 2001 - Idit Mizrahi, 20, of Rimonim, was fatally shot in a terrorist ambush as she drove with her father and brother on the Alon Highway to attend a family wedding. Terrorists fired 30 bullets, 19 of which hit the family's car.
May 18, 2001 - Lt. Yair Nebenzahl, 22, of Neve Tzuf (Halamish), was killed
and his mother seriously wounded, in a Palestinian roadside ambush north of
Jerusalem. May 29, 2001 - Gilad Zar, 41, of Itamar, was shot dead in a terrorist ambush while driving in the West Bank between Kedumim and Yizhar. The Fatah Tanzim claimed responsibility for the attack. May 29, 2001 - Sara Blaustein, 53, and Esther Alvan, 20, of Efrat, were killed in a drive-by shooting near Neve Daniel in the Gush Etzion bloc south of Jerusalem. The Fatah Tanzim claimed responsibility for the attack. May 31, 2001 - Zvi Shelef, 63, of Mevo Dotan, was killed in a drive-by shooting attack in northern Samaria north of Tulkarem. He was shot in the head and died en route to hospital. June 12, 2001 - Father Georgios Tsibouktzakis, 34, a Greek Orthodox monk from the St. George Monastery in Wadi Kelt in the Judean desert, was shot and killed while driving on the Jerusalem-Ma'ale Adumim road. June 14, 2001 - Lt.Col. Yehuda Edri, 45, of Ma'ale Adumim was killed by a Palestinian informant for Israeli intelligence in a shooting attack on the Bethlehem bypass tunnel road connecting the Gush Etzion bloc with Jerusalem. One of his security guards was seriously injured. June 18, 2001 - Dan Yehuda, 35, of Homesh was killed in a drive-by shooting attack between Homesh and Shavei Shomron, near Nablus. Alex Briskin, 17, was moderately injured. June 18, 2001 - Doron Zisserman, 38, of Einav, was shot and killed in his car by sniper fire near the entrance to Einav, east of Tulkarem. Fatah claimed responsibility for the attack. June 20, 2001 - Ilya Krivitz, 62, of Homesh in Samaria was shot and killed at close range in an ambush late Wednesday afternoon in the nearby Palestinian town of Silat a-Dahar. June 28, 2001 - Ekaterina (Katya) Weintraub, 27, of Ganim in northern Samaria was killed and another woman injured late Thursday afternoon by shots fired at the two-car convoy on the Jenin bypass road. July 2, 2001 - Aharon Obadyan, 41, of Zichron Ya'akov was shot and killed near Baka a-Sharkia, north of the West Bank city of Tulkarem and close to the 1967 Green Line border, after shopping at the local market. July 2, 2001 - The body of Yair Har Sinai, 51, of Susiya in the Hebron hills, missing since Monday (July 2) was found early Tuesday morning shot in the head and chest. July 4, 2001 - Eliahu Na'aman, 32, of Petah Tikva, was shot at point-blank range just inside the Green Line at Sueika, near Tulkarem. July 13, 2001 - Yehezkel (Hezi) Mualem, 49, father of four from Kiryat Arba, was shot and killed between Kiryat Arba and Hebron while protesting a shooting attack in the area the previous day. July 14, 2001 - David Cohen, 28, of Betar Illit, died of injuries sustained in a drive-by shooting in Kiryat Arba on July 12. July 26, 2001 - Ronen Landau, 17, of Givat Ze'ev, was shot and killed by Palestinian terrorists while returning home from Jerusalem with his father. August 5, 2001 - Tehiya Bloomberg, 40, of Karnei Shomron, mother of five and 5 months pregnant, was killed when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on the family vehicle between Alfei Menashe and Karnei Shomron. Three people were seriously wounded, including her husband, Shimon, and daughter, Tzippi, 14. August 6, 2001 - Yitzhak Snir, 51, of Ra'anana, an Israeli diamond merchant, was shot dead in Amman, in the yard of the building where he kept a flat. His body was found the following morning.
August 7, 2001 - Wael Ghanem, 32, an Arab Israeli resident of Taibeh, was shot
and killed by Palestinian assailants on the road near Kalkilya. Police
believe he was murdered because of suspected collaboration with Israeli
authorities. August 9, 2001 - Aliza Malka, 17, a boarding student at Kibbutz Merav, was killed by terrorists in a drive-by shooting at the entrance to the kibbutz in the Gilboa region, west of Beit She'an. Three teenage girls who were with her in the car were injured, one seriously. August 25, 2001 - Sharon, 26, and Yaniv Ben-Shalom, 27, of Ofarim, were killed when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on their car as they were returning home on the Jerusalem-Modi'in on road Saturday night. Their children, aged one and two, were lightly wounded. Sharon's brother, Doron Sviri, 20, of Jerusalem was fatally wounded and died the following day. August 26, 2001 - Dov Rosman, 58, of Netanya was killed in a shooting attack shortly before 17:00 on Sunday afternoon near the entrance to the village of Zaita, opposite Kibbutz Magal. Fatah claimed responsibility for the attack. August 27, 2001 - Meir Lixenberg, 38, of Itamar, father of five, was shot and killed by Palestinian terrorists from a roadside ambush while traveling between the communities of Har Bracha and Itamar, south of Nablus. August 29, 2001 - Oleg Sotnikov, 35, of Ashdod, a truck driver employed by Dor Energy, was killed in a terrorist shooting attack outside the Palestinian village of Kutchin, west of Nablus. August 30, 2001 - Amos Tajouri, 60, of Modi'in, was shot in the head at point-blank range by a masked gunman in the Arab village of Na'alin, while dining at a restaurant owned by close friends. September 6, 2001 - Lt. Erez Merhavi, 23, of Moshav Tarum was killed in an ambush shooting near Kibbutz Bahan, east of Hadera, while driving to a wedding. A female officer with him in the car was seriously injured. Fatah-Tanzim claimed responsibility for the attack. September 9, 2001 - Ya'akov Hatzav, 42, of Hamra in the Jordan Valley, the driver, and Sima Franko, 24, of Beit She'an, a kindergarten teacher, were killed in a shooting attack 300 meters south of the Adam Junction in the Jordan Valley. A minibus transporting teachers to the regional school was attacked by Palestinian terrorists. September 11, 2001 - Border Policemen Sgt. Tzachi David, 19, of Tel-Aviv, and St.-Sgt. Andrei Zledkin, 26, of Carmiel, were killed just after midnight when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on the Ivtan Border Police base near Kibbutz Bachan in central Israel. A Fatah group claimed responsibility for the attack. September 12, 2001 - Ruth Shua'i, 46, of Alfei Menashe, was traveling home around 19:30 p.m. when shots were fired from a passing vehicle near the village of Habla near Kalkilya. She sustained injuries to her head and stomach and died en route to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba. September 15, 2001 - Meir Weisshaus, 23, of Jerusalem, was fatally shot late Saturday night in a drive-by shooting on the Ramot-French Hill road in northern Jerusalem. September 16, 2001 - Sgt. David Gordukal, 23, of Upper Nazareth, was killed in the exchange of fire on Saturday night in the south of Ramallah, during which five senior Palestinian terrorists were arrested and a number of Palestinian positions and a Force 17 camp were attacked. September 20, 2001 - Sarit Amrani, 26, of Nokdim, was killed Thursday morning and her husband Shai was seriously wounded in a shooting attack near Tekoa, south of Bethlehem. The couple's three children who were traveling in the vehicle were not injured. Fatah claimed responsibility for the attack. September 24, 2001 - Salit Sheetrit, 28, of Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu was killed by gunfire shortly after 6:30 near Shadmot Mehola on the Jordan Valley road. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. October 4, 2001 - Sgt. Tali Ben-Armon, 19, an off-duty woman soldier from Pardesia, Haim Ben-Ezra, 76, of Givat Hamoreh, and Sergei Freidin, 20, of Afula were killed when a Palestinian terrorist, dressed as an Israeli paratrooper, opened fire on Israeli civilians waiting at the central bus station in Afula. 13 other Israelis were wounded in the attack. Fatah claimed responsibility for the attack. October 5, 2001 - Hananya Ben-Avraham, 46, of Elad was killed by Palestinian terrorists in a machine gun ambush near Avnei Hefetz in central Israel. October 17, 2001 - Tourism Minister Rechavam Ze'evy, 75, was assassinated by two shots to the head outside his room at the Jerusalem Hyatt Hotel. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack. October 18, 2001 - Lior Kaufman, 30, of Ramat Sharon was killed and two injured, one seriously, by shots fired by terrorists at their jeep in the Judean desert, near the March Saba monastery. October 28, 2001 - St.-Sgt. Yaniv Levy, 22, of Zichron Yaakov was killed by Palestinian terrorists in a drive-by machine-gun ambush near Kibbutz Metzer in northern Israel. The Tanzim wing of Arafat's Fatah faction claimed responsibility for the murder. October 28, 2001 - Ayala Levy, 39, of Elyachin; Smadar Levy, 23, of Hadera; Lydia Marko, 63, of Givat Ada; and Sima Menahem, 30, of Zichron Yaakov were killed when two Palestinian terrorists, members of the Palestinian police, armed with assault rifles and expanding bullets, opened fire from a vehicle on Israeli pedestrians at a crowded bus-stop in downtown Hadera. About 40 were wounded, three critically. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsiblity for the attack. November 2, 2001 - St.-Sgt. Raz Mintz, 19, of Kiryat Motzkin was killed by Palestinian gunmen 5:45 P.M. on Friday at an IDF roadblock at near Ofra, north of Ramallah. The Fatah-affiliated Al-Aksa Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack. November 4, 2001 - Shoshana Ben Ishai, 16, of Betar Illit and Menashe (Meni) Regev, 14, of Jerusalem were killed when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire with a sub-machine gun shortly before 16:00 at a No. 25 Egged bus at the French Hill junction in northern Jerusalem. 45 people were injured in the attack. November 6, 2001 - Capt. (Res.) Eyal Sela, 39, of Moshav Nir Banim, was shot dead in an ambush by three Palestinian terrorists on the southern Nablus bypass road. November 9, 2001 - Hadas Abutbul, 39, of Mevo Dotan in northern Samaria was shot and killed by Palestinian terrorists on Friday afternoon as she drove from work in nearby Shaked. November 11, 2001 - Aharon Ussishkin, 50, head of security at Moshav Kfar Hess, east of Netanya, was shot and killed at the entrance to the moshav on Sunday evening, after being summoned to investigate a suspicious person. November 27, 2001 - Noam Gozovsky, 23, of Moshav Ramat Zvi, and Michal Mor, 25, of Afula were killed when two Palestinian terrorists from the Jenin area opened fire with Kalashnikov assault rifles on a crowd of people near the central bus station in Afula. Police officers and a reserve soldier confronted them, killing the terrorists in the ensuing firefight. Another 50 people were injured, 10 of them moderately to seriously. Fatah and the Islamic Jihad claimed joint responsibility. November 29, 2001 - 1st Sgt. Yaron Pikholtz, 20, of Ramat Gan, was killed and a second soldier was injured in a drive-by shooting incident on the Green Line, near the West Bank village of Baka el-Sharkiya. December 2, 2001 - Prof. Baruch Singer, 51, of Gedera was killed when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on his car near the northern Gaza settlement of Elei Sinai. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. December 25, 2001 - Sgt. Michael Sitbon, 23, of Beit Shemesh, an IDF reserve soldier, was killed, and four other soldiers were injured, in a shooting attack Tuesday morning near the Jordanian border north of Beit She'an. January 14, 2002 - Sgt. Elad Abu-Gani, 19, of Tiberias, was killed and an officer sustained gunshot wounds in a terrorist ambush near Kuchin, between Nablus and Tulkarm. Fatah claimed responsibility for the attack. January 15, 2002 - Avraham (Avi) Boaz, 71, of Ma'aleh Adumim, an American citizen, was kidnapped at a PA security checkpoint in Beit Jala. His bullet-riddled body was found in a car in Beit Sahur, in the Bethlehem area. The Fatah's Al-Aksa Brigade claimed responsibility for the murder. January 15, 2002 - Yoela Chen, 45, of Givat Ze'ev, was shot and killed by Palestinian terrorists near the gas station at the entrance to Givat Ze'ev shortly before 20:00. Her aunt who was with her in the car was injured. The Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigade claimed responsibility for the murder. January 16, 2002 - Shahada Dadis, 30, an Arab resident of Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem, was killed in a drive-by terrorist shooting. He was found dead in a car bearing Israeli license plates south of Jenin in the West Bank. January 17, 2002 - Edward Bakshayev, 48, of Or Akiva; Anatoly Bakshayev, 63, of Or Akiva; Aharon Ben Yisrael-Ellis, 32, of Ra'anana; Dina Binayev, 48, of Ashkelon; Boris Melikhov, 56, of Sderot; and Avi Yazdi, 25, of Hadera were killed and 35 injured, several seriously, when a terrorist burst into a bat mitzva reception in a banquet hall in Hadera shortly before 23:00, opening fire with an M-16 assault rifle. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. January 22, 2002 - Sarah Hamburger, 79, and Svetlana Sandler, 56, both of Jerusalem, were killed and 40 were injured when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire with an M-16 assault rifle near a bus stop in downtown Jerusalem. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. February 6, 2002 - Miri Ohana, 45, and her daughter Yael, 11, were murdered in their home when an armed terrorist infiltrated Moshav Hamra, halfway between Jericho and Beit She'an in the Jordan Valley on Wednesday evening, opening fire. IDF reserve soldier, St.-Sgt. Maj.(res.) Moshe Majos Meconen, 33, of Beit She'an, was also killed in the attack. The terrorist, who entered the Ohana home disguised in IDF uniform, was killed by IDF forces. Both Fatah and Hamas claimed responsibility. February 9, 2002 - Atala Lipobsky, 78, of Ma'ale Ephraim was shot dead on Saturday night while driving on the Trans-Samaria Highway with her son. Palestinian gunmen opened fire on the car, apparently from an ambush, between Ariel and the Tapuah Junction. February 10, 2002 - Lt. Keren Rothstein, 20, of Ashkelon and Cpl. Aya Malachi, 18, of Moshav Ein Habesor were killed in a drive-by terrorist shooting at the entrance to the IDF Southern Command base in Be'er Sheva. Four others were wounded, one critically. One of the terrorists was killed at the scene; the second, wearing an explosives belt, fled in the direction of a nearby school when he was shot and killed by a soldier and police officer. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. February 15, 2002 - St.-Sgt. Lee Nahman Akunis, 20, of Holon, was shot and killed by gunmen on Friday night at a roadblock north of Ramallah. The Fatah's Al-Aksa Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack. February 18, 2002 - Ahuva Amergi, 30, of Ganei Tal in Gush Katif was killed and a 60-year old man was injured when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on her car. Maj. Mor Elraz, 25, of Kiryat Ata and St.-Sgt. Amir Mansouri, 21, of Kiryat Arba, who came to their assistance, were killed while trying to intercept the terrorist. The terrorist was killed when the explosives he was carrying were detonated. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. February 19, 2002 - Lt. Moshe Eini, 21, of Petah Tikva; St.-Sgt. Benny Kikis, 20, of Carmiel; St.-Sgt. Mark Podolsky, 20, of Tel Aviv; St.-Sgt. Erez Turgeman, 20, of Jerusalem; St.-Sgt. Tamir Atsmi, 21, of Kiryat Ono; and St.-Sgt. Michael Oxsman, 21, of Haifa were killed and one wounded in an attack near a roadblock west of Ramallah. Several terrorists opened fire at soldiers at the roadblock, including three off-duty soldiers inside a structure at the roadblock, killing them at point-blank range. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. February 21, 2002 - Minhal Dragma, 22, of Baka al-Garbiya, was killed when a terrorist opened fire at IDF soldiers at the entrance to Baka al-Sharkiya. February 22, 2002 - Valery Ahmir, 59, of Beit Shemesh was killed by terrorists in a drive-by shooting on the Atarot-Givat Ze'ev road north of Jerusalem as he returned home from work. Fatah claimed responsibility for the attack. February 25, 2002 - Avraham Fish, 65, and Aharon Gorov, 46, both of Nokdim, were killed in a terrorist shooting attack between Tekoa and Nokdim, south of Bethlehem. Fish's daughter, 9 months pregnant, was seriously injured but delivered a baby girl. The Fatah al-Aksa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. February 25, 2002 - Police officer 1st Sgt. Galit Arbiv, 21, of Nesher, died after being fatally shot, when a terrorist opened fire at a bus stop in the Neve Ya'akov residential neighbhorhood in northern Jerusalem. Eight others were injured, two seriously. The Fatah al-Aksa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. February 27, 2002 - Gad Rejwan, 34, of Jerusalem, was shot and killed early Wednesday morning by one of his Palestinian employees in a factory in the Atarot industrial area, north of Jerusalem. Two Fatah groups issued a joint statement taking responsibility for the murder. February 28, 2002 - IDF soldier St.-Sgt. Haim Bachar, 20, of Tel Aviv was killed during clashes with Palestinians in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus. IDF forces entered the camp to search for wanted terrorists. March 1, 2002 - IDF soldier Sgt. Ya'acov Avni, 20, of Kiryat Ata was killed by Palestinian sniper fire in the Jenin refugee camp. March 3, 2002 - Sgt. Steven Kenigsberg, 19, of Hod Hasharon was killed and 4 soldiers injured when a Palestinian gunman opened fire near the Kissufim crossing in the Gaza Strip. The Islamic Jihad and Tanzim claimed responsibility for the attack. March 5, 2002 - Police officer FSM Salim Barakat, 33, of Yarka; Yosef Habi, 52, of Herzliya; and Eli Dahan, 53, of Lod were killed and over 30 people were wounded in Tel-Aviv when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on two adjacent restaurants shortly after 2:00 a.m. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack. March 5, 2002 - Devorah Friedman, 45, of Efrat, was killed and her husband injured in shooting attack on the Bethlehem bypass "tunnel road", south of Jerusalem. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack. March 6, 2002 - Cpl.(res.) Alexander Nastarenko, 37, of Netanya was killed when Palestinian gunmen crossed the border fence and ambushed an army jeep on the patrol road near Kibbutz Nir Oz. March 7, 2002 - Arik Krogliak of Beit El, Tal Kurtzweil of Bnei Brak, Asher Marcus of Jerusalem, Eran Picard of Jerusalem, and Ariel Zana of Jerusalem, all aged 18, were killed and 23 people were injured, four seriously, when a Palestinian gunman penetrated the pre-military training academy in the Gush Katif settlement of Atzmona. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. March 8, 2002 - St.-Sgt. Edward Korol, 20, of Ashdod, was killed by a Palestinian sniper in Tulkarem. March 10, 2002 - St.-Sgt. Kobi Eichelboim, 21, of Givatayim died Sunday afternoon from wounds suffered in the morning when a Palestinian gunman disguised as a worker opened fire at the entrance to Netzarim in the Gaza Strip. March 12, 2002 - Eyal Lieberman, 42, of Tzoran was killed and another person was wounded in a shooting attack at the Kiryat Sefer checkpoint, east of Modi'in. March 12, 2002 - Yehudit Cohen, 33, of Shlomi; Ofer Kanarick, 44, of Moshav Betzet; Alexei Kotman, 29, of Kibbutz Beit Hashita; Lynne Livne, 49, and her daughter Atara, 15, of Kibbutz Hanita; and Lt. German Rozhkov, 25, of Kiryat Shmona were killed when two terrorists opened fire from an ambush on Israeli vehicles traveling between Shlomi and Kibbutz Metzuba near the northern border with Lebanon. Seven others were injured. Israeli forces killed the two gunmen, who were dressed in IDF uniforms, and carried out wide-scale searches for additional terrorists. March 13, 2002 - Lt. Gil Badihi, 21, of Nataf died of injuries suffered Wednesday morning in Ramallah. He was shot in the head by a Palestinian gunman while inside his tank and evacuating infantry personnel. March 17, 2002 - Noa Auerbach, 18, of Kfar Sava was killed and 16 people were injured when a terrorist opened fire on passersby in the center of Kfar Sava. The gunman was shot and killed by police. March 19, 2002 - 1st Lt. Tal Zemach, 20, of Kibbutz Hulda, was killed and three soldiers were injured when Palestinian terrorists opened fire on them in the Jordan Valley. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. March 24, 2002 - Esther Kleiman, 23, of Neve Tzuf, was killed in a shooting attack northwest of Ramallah, while traveling to work in a reinforced Egged bus. March 24, 2002 - Avi Sabag, 24, of Otniel was killed in a terrorist shooting south of Hebron. March 26, 2002 - Major Cengiz Soytunc of Turkey and Catherine Berruex of Switzerland, members of the TIPH observer force in Hebron, were killed in an ambush shooting by a Palestinian gunman near Halhul. March 28, 2002 - Rachel and David Gavish, 50, their son Avraham Gavish, 20, and Rachel's father Yitzhak Kanner, 83, were killed when a terrorist infiltrated the community of Elon Moreh in Samaria, entered their home and opened fire on its inhabitants. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. March 30, 2002 - Border Policeman Sgt.-Maj. Constantine Danilov, 23, of Or Akiva was shot and killed in Baka al-Garbiyeh, during an exchange of fire with two Palestinians trying to cross into Israel to carry out a suicide attack. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility. April 1, 2002 - Sgt.-Maj. Ofir Roth, 22, of Gan Yoshiya, an IDF reserve soldier, was killed at a roadblock near Jerusalem's Har Homa neighborhood by a Palestinian sniper firing from Beit Sahur, near Bethlehem. April 5, 2002 - Sgt. Marom Moshe Fisher, 19, of Moshav Avigdor; Sgt. Ro'i Tal, 21, of Ma'alot; and Sgt. Oded Kornfein, 20, of Kibbutz Ha'on - were killed in exchanges of fire between IDF troops and Palestinian gunmen in Jenin (Operation Defensive Shield). April 8, 2002 - St.-Sgt. Matanya Robinson, 21, of Kibbutz Tirat Zvi, and Sgt. Shmuel Weiss, 19, of Kiryat Arba were killed in an ambush by Palestinian gunfire in the Jenin refugee camp (Operation Defensive Shield). April 9, 2002 - Maj. Assaf Assoulin, 30, of Tel Aviv was killed in an exchange of fire in Nablus. April 12, 2002 - Border policeman St.-Sgt. David Smirnoff, 22, of Ashdod was killed when a Palestinian gunman opened fire near the Erez crossing, in the Gaza Strip, killing one and injuring another four Israelis. The terrorist killed one and injured three Palestinian workers in the same shooting spree. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. April 20, 2002 - Border Policeman St.-Sgt. Uriel Bar-Maimon, 21 of Ashkelon was killed in an exchange of fire near the Erez industrial park in the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli forces pursued the Palestinian gunman and killed him. An explosive belt was found on his body. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility. April 22, 2002 - Sgt. Maj. Nir Krichman, 22 of Hadera, was killed in an exchange of gunfire, when IDF forces entered the village of Asira a-Shamaliya, north of Nablus, to arrest known Hamas terrorists. April 27, 2002 - Danielle Shefi, 5; Arik Becker, 22; Katrina (Katya) Greenberg, 45; and Ya'acov Katz, 51, all of Adora, were killed when terrorists dressed in IDF uniforms and combat gear cut through the settlement's defensive perimeter fence and entered Adora, west of Hebron. Seven other people were injured, one seriously. The terrorists entered several homes, firing on people in their bedrooms. Both Hamas and the PFLP claimed responsibility for the attack. May 12, 2002 - Nisan Dolinger, 43, of Pe'at Sadeh in the southern Gaza Strip was shot and killed by a Palestinian laborer. The assailant was apprehended. May 24, 2002 - Reserve IDF Sgt. 1st Class Oren Tzelnik, 23, of Bat Yam was killed and two soldiers wounded when terrorists opened fire on their APC during a counter-terrorist operation in Tulkarm. May 28, 2002 - Albert Maloul, 50, of Jerusalem, was killed when shots were fired at the car in which he was traveling south on the Ramallah bypass road. Maloul and his cousin, who was lightly injured, were returning home to Jerusalem from Eli, where they operate the swimming pool. The Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. May 28, 2002 - Netanel Riachi, 17, of Kochav Ya'akov; Gilad Stiglitz, 14, of Yakir; and Avraham Siton, 17, of Shilo - three yeshiva high school students - were killed and two others wounded in Itamar, southeast of Nablus, when a Palestinian gunman infiltrated the community and opened fire on the teenagers playing basketball, before he was shot dead by a security guard. The Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. June 6, 2002 - Erez Rund, 18, of Ofra died of gunshot wounds to the chest sustained in a shooting attack near Ofra, north of Ramallah, when Palestinian terrorists opened fire from an ambush. June 19, 2002 - Maj. Shlomi Cohen, 26, of Rehovot and St.-Sgt. Yosef Talbi, 20, of Yehud were killed and four soldiers were wounded Wednesday night in Kalkilya when Palestinian gunmen opened fire while the soldiers were in pursuit of two terrorists inside a building. June 20, 2002 - Rachel Shabo, 40, and three of her sons - Neria, 16, Zvika, 12, and Avishai, 5 - as well as a neighbor, Yosef Twito, 31, who came to their aid, were murdered when a terrorist entered their home in Itamar, south of Nablus, and opened fire. Two other children were injured, as well as two soldiers. The terrorist was killed by IDF forces. The PFLP and the Fatah Al Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. July 10, 2002 - IDF officer Capt. Hagai Lev, 24, of Jerusalem, deputy commander of a Givati reconaissance unit, was killed by Palestinian sniper fire while conducting a search for weapons smuggling tunnels in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. The Fatah Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the shooting. July 17, 2002 - Lt. Elad Grenadier, 21, of Haifa was killed and three soldiers were wounded early Wednesday morning in an exchange of fire with the terrorists responsible for the attack in Emmanuel on July 16. July 25, 2002 - Rabbi Elimelech Shapira, 43, of Peduel, was killed and another civilian injured in a shooting attack near the West Bank community of Alei Zahav, west of Ariel. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. July 26, 2002 - St.-Sgt. Elazar Lebovitch, 21, of Hebron; Rabbi Yosef Dikstein, 45, of Psagot, his wife Hannah, 42, and their 9-year-old son Shuv'el Zion were killed in a shooting attack south of Hebron. Two other of their children were injured. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. July 30, 2002 - Shlomo Odesser, 60, and his brother Mordechai, 52, both of Tapuach in Samaria, were shot and killed when their truck came under fire in the West Bank village of Jama'in, near Ariel. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. August 1, 2002 - The body Shani Ladani, 27, of Moshav Olash, shot and bound, was found west of Tulkarem, near the Green Line, in the industrial zone where he was employed. August 4, 2002 - Yekutiel Amitai, 34, of Jerusalem, a security guard, and Nizal Awassat, 52, of the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood in East Jerusalem, were killed and 17 were wounded when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire with a pistol near the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem's Old City. Border policemen exchanged fire with the gunman, killing him. The Fatah al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. August 5, 2002 - Avi Wolanski (29) and his wife Avital (27), of Eli, were killed and one of their children, aged 3, was injured when terrorists opened fire on their car as they were traveling on the Ramallah-Nablus road near Eli in Samaria. The Martyrs of the Palestinian Popular Army, a splinter group associated with Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack. August 10, 2002 - Yafit Herenstein, 31, of Moshav Mechora in the Jordan Valley, was killed and her husband, Arno, seriously wounded when a Palestinian terrorist infiltrated the moshav and opened fire outside their home. The terrorist was killed by soldiers. The Fatah al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. August 20, 2002 - St.-Sgt. Kevin Cohen, 19, of Petah Tikva, was killed by a Palestinian sniper near Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. September 5, 2002 - Lt. Malik Grifat, 24, of Zarzir was killed and a soldier wounded when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire, from a crowded school, towards an IDF patrol near Nisanit in the northern Gaza Strip. The terrorist was killed. The Fatah al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. September 18, 2002 - The charred body of David Buhbut, 67, of Ma'ale Adumim, shot in the head, was found near el-Azzariya, a Palestinian village near Ma'ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, the victim of a terrorist killing. September 18, 2002 - Yosef Ajami, 36, of Jerusalem was killed Wednesday afternoon when terrorists opened fire on his car near Mevo Dotan, north of Jenin in the West Bank. The other occupant of the car, a foreign worker, was lightly injured. The Fatah al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. September 23, 2002 - Shlomo Yitzhak Shapira, 48, of Jerusalem was killed and three of his children wounded, one seriously, in a shooting attack Monday evening near the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. The family, from Jerusalem, had come to Hebron to celebrate the Sukkot festival. September 26, 2002 - Capt. Harel Marmelstein, 23, of Mevasseret Zion, an IDF officer from the naval commando, was killed while leading a search for wanted terrorists in the West Bank village of Labed near Tulkarem. Senior Hamas terrorist Nisa'at Jaber ambushed the troops, opening fire and killing the commander. Jaber was killed by the soldiers. September 30, 2002 - St.-Sgt. Ari Weiss, 21, of Ra'anana, was killed and another soldier from the engineering battalion of the Nahal Brigade was wounded when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on an army position in the Nablus casbah. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. October 8, 2002 - Oded Wolk, 51, of Modi'in, who was critically wounded in an ambush shooting south of Hebron, died of his wounds the following day (Oct 9). Three other Israelis were injured in the attack when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on their car. Hamas claimed resopnsibility for the attack. October 29, 2002 - Three Hermesh residents - Orna Eshel, 53, Linoy Saroussi and Hadas Turgeman, both 14 - were killed and two were wounded when a terrorist armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle and wearing an explosive belt opened fire, after infiltrating the settlement in northern Samaria. The terrorist was shot dead. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. November 6, 2002 - Assaf Tzfira, 18, of B'dolah and Amos Sa'ada, 52, of Rafiah Yam were killed when when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire in a hothouse and textile factory at Pe'at Sadeh in the southern Gaza Strip. The terrorist was killed by a security officer. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. November 10, 2002 - Revital Ohayon, 34, and her two sons, Matan, 5, and Noam, 4, as well as Yitzhak Dori, 44 - all of Kibbutz Metzer - and Tirza Damari, 42, of Elyachin, were killed when a terrorist infiltrated the kibbutz, located east of Hadera near the Green Line, and opened fire. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. November 18, 2002 - Esther Galia, 48, of Kochav Hashahar, was killed in a shooting attack near Rimonim, on the Allon Road, some 15 kilometers northeast of Ramallah. November 22, 2002 - IDF tracker Sgt.-Maj. Shigdaf (Shai) Garmai, 30, of Lod, was killed when an Israel Defense Forces Givati Brigade patrol near Tel Qateifa, in the Gaza Strip, came under Palestinian gunfire. Hamas claimed responsibility. December 20, 2002 - Rabbi Yitzhak Arama, 40, of Netzer Hazani in Gush Katif, in the Gaza Strip, was shot and killed on the Kissufim corridor road while driving with his wife and six children to attend a pre-wedding Sabbath celebration in Afula. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. January 12, 2003 - Eli Biton, 48, of Moshav Gadish was killed and four people wounded when terrorists infiltrated the community and opened fire. Two terrorists were killed by Israeli forces. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. January 17, 2003 - Netanel Ozeri, 34, was killed when terrorists entered his home, in an outpost north of Kiryat Arba, and opened fire. His 5-year-old daughter and two friends were wounded. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. February 6, 2003 - 2nd Lt. Amir Ben-Aryeh, 21, of Maccabim, and St.-Sgt. Idan Suzin, 20, of Kiryat Tivon were killed and two more soldiers were wounded in a shooting attack in the area of Nablus. Both gunmen were killed by return fire from IDF troops. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Fatah-Tanzim claimed responsibility for the attack. February 11, 2003 - Maj. Shahar Shmul, 24, of Jerusalem was killed by a Palestinian sniper near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem while checking a suspicious vehicle. The PFLP and the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. February 23, 2003 - Sgt. Doron Lev, 19, of Holon was shot and killed when a Palestinian sniper opened fire at an army position in the southern Gaza Strip. The PFLP claimed responsibility for the attack. March 7, 2003 - Rabbi Eli Horowitz, 52, and his wife Dina, 50, of Kiryat Arba, were killed and five wounded Friday night by armed terrorists disguised as Jewish worshippers who infiltrated Kiryat Arba, entered their home and murdered them while they were celebrating the Sabbath. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. March 10, 2003 - St.-Sgt. Tomer Ron, 20, of Moshav Moledet, was killed and four soldiers were wounded - one seriously - in Hebron, on the road between the Cave of the Patriarchs and Kiryat Arba, when Palestinian terrorists opened fire on a foot patrol. Two organizations - Hamas and Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front-General Command - claimed responsibility for the attack. March 12, 2003 - St.-Sgt. Assaf Moshe Fuchs, 21, of Kibbutz Gvat was killed and another soldier wounded Wednesday morning in an exchange of fire with wanted terrorists from the Islamic Jihad in the West Bank village of Saida, near Tulkarm. March 18, 2003 - Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Ami Cohen, 27, of Netanya was killed and another soldier wounded south of Bethlehem when Palestinians opened fire during a search for wanted terrorists. March 19, 2003 - Zion Boshirian, 51, of Mevo Dotan was shot and killed while driving in his car between Mevo Dotan and Shaked in northern Samaria. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. April 10, 2003 - St.-Sgt. Yigal Lifshitz, 20, of Rishon Lezion, and St.-Sgt. Ofer Sharabi, 21, of Givat Shmuel were killed and nine others wounded when Palestinian terrorists opened fire before dawn on their base near Bekaot in the northern Jordan Valley. The PFLP and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. April 15, 2003 - Lt. Daniel Mandel, 24, of Alon Shvut was killed and another soldier was wounded in an exchange of gunfire during a search for wanted Hamas terrorists in Nablus. April 15, 2003 - Zachar Rahamin Hanukayev, 39, of Sderot and Ahmed Salah Kara, 20, of Shuafat in northern Jerusalem were killed and four Israelis were wounded when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire at the Karni industrial zone crossing in the Gaza Strip. The gunman was killed by security personnel. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. May 11, 2003 - Zion David, 53, of Givat Ze'ev near Jerusalem, was shot in the head and killed by Palestinian terrorists in a roadside ambush half a kilometer from Ofra, north of Jerusalem. Both Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack. June 8, 2003 - Sgt. Maj. (Res.) Assaf Abergil, 23, of Eilat; Sgt. Maj. (Res.) Udi Eilat, 38, of Eilat; Sgt. Maj. Boaz Emete, 24, of Beit She'an; and Sgt. Maj. (Res.) Chen Engel, 32, of Ramat Gan were killed and four reserve soldiers were wounded when Palestinian terrorists wearing IDF uniforms opened fire on an IDF outpost near the Erez checkpoint and industrial zone in the Gaza Strip. Three terrorists were killed by IDF soldiers. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad issued a joint statement claiming responsibility for the attack. June 8, 2003 - St.-Sgt. Matan Gadri, 21, of Moshav Moledet was killed in Hebron while pursuing two Palestinian gunmen who earlier had wounded a Border Policeman on guard at the Tomb of the Patriarchs. The two terrorists were killed. June 12, 2003 - Avner Maimon, 51, of Netanya, was found shot to death in his car near Yabed in northern Samaria. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. June 13, 2003 - St.-Sgt. Mordechai Sayada, 22, of Tirat Carmel, was shot to death in Jenin by a Palestinian sniper as his jeep patrol passed by. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. June 17, 2003 - Noam Leibowitz, 7, of Yemin Orde was killed and three members of her family wounded in a shooting attack near the Kibbutz Eyal junction on the Trans-Israel Highway. The terrorist fired from the outskirts of the West Bank city of Kalkilya. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command claimed responsibility for the attack. June 26, 2003 - Amos (Amit) Mantin, 31, of Hadera, a Bezeq employee, was killed in a shooting attack in the Israeli Arab town of Baka al-Garbiyeh. The shots were fired by a Palestinian teenager, who was apprehended by police. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. June 30, 2003 - Krastyu Radkov, 46, a construction worker from Bulgaria, was killed in a shooting attack on the Yabed bypass road in northern Samaria, west of Jenin, while driving a truck. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack, in opposition to the declared ceasefire. August 8, 2003 - Third Petty Officer Roi Oren, 20, an Israel Navy commando, was shot in the head and killed in an assault on a Hamas bomb factory in Nablus. August 29, 2003 - Shalom Har-Melekh, 25, of Homesh was killed in a shooting attack while driving northeast of Ramallah. His wife, Limor, who was seven months pregnant, sustained moderate injuries, and gave birth to a baby girl by Caesarean section. The Fatah al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. September 4, 2003 - St.-Sgt. Gabriel Uziel, 20, of Givat Ze'ev was shot and mortally wounded by a terrorist sniper in Jenin; he died en route to the hospital. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. October 19, 2003 - St.-Sgt. Erez Idan, 19, of Rishon Lezion, Sgt. Elad Pollack, 19, of Kiryat Motzkin, and Sgt. Roy Yacov Solomon, 21, of Tel Aviv, were killed and another soldier was seriously wounded while on patrol in Ein Yabrud, north of Ramallah, when terrorists fired on them from behind. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. November 18, 2003 - Two IDF soldiers, Sgt.-Maj. Shlomi Belsky, 23, of Haifa, and St.-Sgt. Shaul Lahav, 20, of Kibbutz Shomrat, were killed by a Palestinian terrorist who opened fire with an AK-47 assault rifle, hidden in a prayer rug, at a checkpoint on the tunnel bypass road, linking Jerusalem and the Gush Etzion bloc. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. November 19, 2003 - Patricia Terīn Navarrete, 33, of Ecuador was killed and four other tourists, pilgrims from Ecuador, were wounded when a terrorist entered the Israel-Jordan border crossing terminal north of Eilat from the Jordanian side and opened fire. The terrorist was killed by Israeli security guards. November 22, 2003 - Two Israeli security guards, Ilya Reiger, 58, of Jerusalem, and Samer Fathi Afan, 25, of the Bedouin village Uzeir near Nazareth, were shot dead at a construction site along the route of the security fence near Abu Dis in East Jerusalem. The Jenin Martyrs' Brigades, affiliated with Fatah, claimed responsibility for the attack. January 13, 2004 - Ro'i Arbel, 29, of Talmon, was killed in a terror shooting ambush near his home in Samaria. Three other passengers of the vehicle were wounded. The Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. February 26, 2004 - Sgt.-Maj.(res.) Amir Zimmerman, 25, of Kfar Monash was killed and two other soldiers wounded when two Palestinian terrorists opened fire near the Erez Crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. The terrorists were killed by IDF forces. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. February 27, 2004 - Eitan Kukoi, 30, and his wife, Rima Novikov Kukoi, 25, were killed in a terrorist shooting attack on the Lahav-Ashkelon road, along the Green Line. The PFLP and the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades both claimed responsibility for the attack. March 19, 2004 - George Khoury, 20, a Christian Arab and the son of well-known veteran attorney Elias Khoury of Beit Hanina, was shot to death from a vehicle while jogging in the north Jerusalem neighborhood of French Hill. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which claimed responsibility for the attack, later published an apology. April 3, 2004 - Yaakov (Kobi) Zagha, 40, of Avnei Hefetz was shot dead by a terrorist outside his home, after his daughter Hani, 14, was shot and wounded. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. April 25, 2004 - Border Policeman Cpl. Yaniv Mashiah, 20, of Jaffa, was killed and three others lightly wounded just an hour after the beginning of Memorial Day for Israel's fallen soldiers when shots were fired at their vehicle near Hebron. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. May 2, 2004 - Tali Hatuel, 34, and her daughters - Hila, 11, Hadar, 9, Roni, 7, and Merav, 2 - of Katif in the Gaza Strip were killed and another civilian and two soldiers wounded when two Palestinian terrorists fired on an Israeli car at the entrance to the Gaza Strip settlement bloc of Gush Katif. Fatah and Islamic Jihad claimed joint responsibility for the attack. May 14, 2004 - St.-Sgt. Rotem Adam, 21, Rishon Lezion and Sgt. Alexei Hayat, 21, of Beer Sheva were killed and two soldiers moderately wounded by Palestinian sniper fire in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. May 29, 2004 - Maj. Shachar Ben-Yishai, 25, of Menahemia was killed by Palestinian gunfire following a search in the Balata camp near Nablus. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. June 29, 2004 - Moshe Yohai, 63, of Ashdod, was found shot to death in Beit Rima, a Palestinian Authority-controlled village near Ramallah, where he had apparently gone on business. The Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility. July 4, 2004 - Victor Kreiderman, 49, of Mevo Dotan, was ambushed and shot to death by Aksa Martyrs Brigades terrorists as he and his wife were driving near the village of Yabad. His wife, Emma, was lightly wounded. July 6, 2004 - Capt. Moran Vardi, 25, of Binyamina, of the Navy Seals commando unit Shayetet 13, was killed, and three others were wounded in an exchange of fire between IDF forces and Palestinian terrorists while attempting to arrest terrorists in Nablus. August 13, 2004 - Shlomo Miller, 50, of Itamar in Samaria was killed by a Palestinian terrorist who opened fire outside the settlement gate. The The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility. October 19, 2004 - St.-Sgt. Yair Nisim Turgemann, 22, of Kiryat Arba, was killed at an IDF base near Mevo Dotan in Samaria when Palestinian gunmen opened fire from Palestinian territory west of the community. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. December 22, 2004 - Salem (Sami) al-Kimlat, 28, a Bedouin from the town of Rahat employed as a security guard at the construction site of the security fence west of Hebron, was shot and killed by Palestinian terrorists. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. January 7, 2005 - St.-Sgt. Yosef (Yossi) Atia, 21, of Petah Tikva, was killed and three fellow off-duty soldiers were wounded when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on their car on the Trans-Samaria Highway. The Fatah al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
Funding the Farmers in Gush
Katif
The phenomena is inexplicable: Families that sometimes have trouble making ends meet are transfering loans of hundreds and thousands of shekels to the fund, the sole purpose of which is to maintain agricultural life in Gush Katif with summer plantings that will bear fruit next fall. The banks have long since cut off the farmers' credit, so the fund lends farmers the money to cover 50 percent of the planting costs. The fund ostensibly promises that backers will get their money repaid at the end of the season - namely, many months after the disengagement. The chances of the fund repaying its backers is almost nil. Yet, as far as many of the donors are concerned, this is a test of their faith. They know full well they are unlikely to see their money again. The contract they sign with the fund explicitly states that "if, heaven forbid, the light is late in coming," the loan will become a grant, but they also want to exhaust every chance. Or, as Gush Katif's security officer, Ami Shaked, puts it in one of his missives to residents, "to ensure that on the day of reckoning the farmers may be found as Cohens at their work and the students as Levites in their musical accompaniment." The list of donor-lenders is diverse: an anonymous professor from the Weizmann Institute who tapped into his pension fund to transfer NIS 100,000; a woman from a West Bank settlement, who lives on her monthly widow's allowance of NIS 2,300, apologized that she can only transfer NIS 200; a female tourist from China who entered the offices of the Gaza Coast Regional Council on Wednesday and placed $250 down on the desk; a teacher from Ashkelon who transfered NIS 1,000. More than 3,000 donor-lenders have registered so far. Most transfered sums of around NIS 1,000, but there have been some organized donations. Residents of the religious Har Nof neighborhood in Jerusalem raised NIS 150,000. Kfar Pines transfered 80,000. Kfar Etzion, one of whose residents, Hanan Porat, is the fund's chairman, transfered NIS 75,000. The urban part of Gush Etzion has pledged a million shekels. The secretariats of Beit Hagai in the southern Hebron Hills and Mehola in the Jordan Valley announced they would match donations of NIS 500 by residents. Golan Heights communities pledged NIS 500,000. Jonathan Pollard is sending $18 from the limited funds at his disposal, his wife told Asher Mivtzari of Kfar Darom. Rabbis have enlisted in the effort, and many use their weekly sermons to extol the fund and urge their congregations to support it. The fund calculates that NIS 20 million is needed to enable all the farmers in Gush Katif to carry on as usual. Some NIS 3 million has been collected so far.
The Israel Resource Review is brought to you by
the Israel Resource, a media firm based at the Bet Agron Press Center in
Jerusalem, and the Gaza Media Center under the juristdiction of the Palestine
Authority. |
Printer
friendly version of this article