attack in Jerusalem 'Terrorist fired 500-600 bullets before he was killed'

attack in Jerusalem 'Terrorist fired 500-600 bullets before he was killed'

this is going to escalate fast IMO.

Eight people were confirmed dead in a terror attack at Merkaz Harav Yeshiva, near the entrance to Jerusalem on Thursday evening. The attack was reportedly perpetrated by a resident of Jabel Mukaber in east Jerusalem.


Rescue workers evacuate wounded from the scene of Thursday's terror attack in Merkaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
Photo: Channel 10
Magen David Adom have confirmed 10 wounded civilians, including three seriously. One terrorist was said to have been killed by a student.

Witnesses said that only one terrorist had entered the building and that he managed to fire 500-600 bullets over the course of 4-10 minutes before he was killed.

source: www.jpost.com...

The Palestinian Hamas movement hailed a deadly attack on a Jewish religious school in Jerusalem on Thursday night as "heroic," without claiming responsibility for the strike that killed eight.

"This heroic attack in Jerusalem is a normal response to the crimes of the occupier and its murder of civilians," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.
........

"We have warned before about the responsibility of the escalation in Gaza and warned of Palestinian anger," Nunu said.

source: www.africasia.com...

does anyone else think this could spark a new escalation?

Israel has already stated the would retaliate aginst any new strike.

The Palestinian president suspended peace talks Sunday as Israel brushed off international criticism and vowed to press ahead with its Gaza offensive until militants halt rocket attacks.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said an even broader Gaza operation was possible, aimed at crushing militant rocket squads but also to "weaken the Hamas rule, in the right circumstances, even to bring it down."

source: cbs4.com...

any thoughts?

Mr. Abbas has condemed the attack.

it seems the P.A. is a serious odds with hamas.

But Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in a written statement, "The Palestinian Authority condemns any attack on innocent civilians."

source: www.cnn.com...

peace talks are underway now.

Egypt hosts Gaza ceasefire talks

Mahmoud al-Zahhar was reported to be heading the Hamas delegation
Delegations from the Palestinian militant groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have begun talks in Egypt about a possible ceasefire with Israel.

source: news.bbc.co.uk...

it didnt say if either group israel or hamas would cease attacks while the talks are in progress. the peace talks could fall apart if israel retaliates for the strike.

this tit fot tat......will it ever end?

israel is now considering evacuating parts of gaza to bomb it. i think this was considered before the atack in jerusalem. i think its safe to assume it will happen now. and i think it would logical to assume israel would not give it back after they took it. causing more anguish in gaza.

What the Arab papers said on March 6:

Al-Quds (East Jerusalem): Israel studies evacuating Gaza neighborhoods before responding to rocket fire – Sources close to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the minister is studying the legal elements for evacuating people from neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip used to launch Palestinian rockets at Israel. They said the evacuation could take place by dropping leaflets warning residents to leave before making air strikes.

source: www.metimes.com...

the UN calls an emergency meeting.

GEORGE W. Bush has said the US "stands firmly" with Israel after a "barbaric and vicious attack" on a school in west Jerusalem, and the UN Security Council has called an emergency meeting.

source: www.news.com.au...

doesn't look good for the peace talks underway.

This attack was on high school aged kids.

I don't think that it will go unpunished.

The Palastanians will once again have to pay a price for the actions of the militants.

It's a vicious cycle over there.

i guess i shouldn't be surprised that nobody cares.

i just wanted to ask a question that's been bothering me... If someone could help shed some light on..

How come western media seem to sympathize with israelis when they get attacked. I mean you see the same footage of "breaking news" on 5 different channels. But a week ago there were attacks on palestinians by the israelis where 100+ civilians died.
Some might argue that the palestinians were killed by soldiers and were not the main targets, but the israelis were killed by terrorists on purpose.

I still don't see why there should be a media biased on the situation... in the end innocent people are dying whether by soldiers or militants... both attacks should be condemned specially when peace talks and negotiations are under way..

i was just curious

Please, i would like to say that i am not saying the attacks were justified, specially on a high school. i think all the violence is unnecessary and the only victims seem to be civilians on both sides. may the victims of both sides rest in peace.

The difference is the Pals pick out individual school buses, schools, hospitals, and clubs. The IS pick out terrorists who grab and hold up a baby or woman in front of them to block the missile or bullet. That is the difference.

Originally posted by minitank
i think all the violence is unnecessary and the only victims seem to be civilians on both sides. may the victims of both sides rest in peace.

yes i certainly agree with you here.

it is true that when Israel is attacked there is more media coverage. yes, I would agree. however, there have been plenty of threads here condemning Israel. im not trying to provide any balance here though.

I thought this event was a turning point type event for the region as a whole. I could be wrong, but, I would think that Israel would be pressured to respond in a heavy handed measure. at least more so than usual. as a result the stakes for the " tit-for-tat " would be much higher, and escalation would happen. causing an already volatile situation to explode into a much larger one. possible open war.

this is the reason I was so interested in this story. for the implications it could have for the region as a whole.

while the US media coverage of the middle east is weighted ( it seems ) in favor of Israel, here on ATS I would say it certainly is not. I wanted to post and follow this story for pure analytical reasons. nothing more.

the attacker has not been named, but, the area he lived in has. it appears he came from within Jerusalem it's self. not sure how the government would justify a response on Gaza after knowing this. maybe this will be more of a police / musad kind of thing. might not be the escalation I thought it was.

Israeli defense officials have not identified the gunman - who was slain during the attack - but said he came from east Jerusalem, home to Palestinians who hold Israeli ID cards that give them freedom of movement in Israel, unlike Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

source: hosted.ap.org...



[edit on 7-3-2008 by JSR]

Originally posted by JSR
the attacker has not been named, but, the area he lived in has. it appears he came from within Jerusalem it's self. not sure how the government would justify a response on Gaza after knowing this. maybe this will be more of a police / musad kind of thing. might not be the escalation I thought it was.

Israeli defense officials have not identified the gunman - who was slain during the attack - but said he came from east Jerusalem, home to Palestinians who hold Israeli ID cards that give them freedom of movement in Israel, unlike Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

source: hosted.ap.org...



[edit on 7-3-2008 by JSR]

Don't they still have to go through security checks in areas like the one where the attacks happen?

reply to post by JSR


Israel may be thinking about doing what I suggested might be necessary.

That would be to flatten everything from the boarder in, the length of the rockets they launch (if their range is 12 km, them flatten everything for 12 km from boarder.

In this way, terrorists can not hide in civilian schools/farms/playgrounds/homes.

They would have nothing but flat ground.

Furthermore, it would result in a complete end to accidental civilian deaths.
The reason is, there would be no civilians to hide behind unless they grabbed them and hide behind them in an open field.
In this way you have military facing military-civilians out of the way.

This attack was pretty clearly in retaliation for the last incursion into Gaza.

Thus proving the utter failure of a "get tough" policy based on collective punishment.

No matter how much death and destruction the Israelis cause in Gaza, the Palestinians will still find a way to retaliate.

The more death and destruction Israel spreads in Gaza, the more attacks like this there will be.

There are only two ways the Israelis can stop these kinds of attacks:
a) genocide - likely to result in Israel's destruction at the hands of the rest of the planet/region.
b) undermining the support of the extremists by offering the Palestinians a deal the majority of them can live with. This won't get results instantly, but it seems to be working in the West Bank.

[edit on 3/11/08 by xmotex]