Post by Salem6 on Oct 19, 2003 22:05:46 GMT
Gunmen have ambushed an Israeli car near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, killing three people and injuring at least one other.
They struck just after sunset near Ofra, east of Ramallah and close to the Palestinian village of Ein Yabrud, Israeli sources reported.
Gun attacks on Israeli traffic in the area have been frequent
Rescue services and security forces rushed to the area where a bomb is also thought to have exploded.
The area has seen repeated gun attacks over the past three years.
Israeli sources said troops went into Ein Yabrud to conduct searches in the aftermath of the attack.
Haaretz online reports that those killed were travelling in a car along Road 60 when the gunmen attacked at close range.
The BBC's Barbara Plett in Jerusalem says many of the attacks previously conducted in this area have been claimed by the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.
Israel has a heavy army presence in the West Bank
Israeli Justice Minister Yosef Lapid condemned the attack, saying the Palestinians did "not realise the disaster they are bringing upon themselves".
"These madmen causing us sorrow and pain are also causing the Palestinians a deterioration into helplessness," he told Israeli television.
The ambush comes after a week of violence in the Palestinian territories, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
Fourteen Palestinians have been killed during Israeli operations in refugee camps around Rafah and searches for secret tunnels used by militants to smuggle weapons have left an estimated 1,000 people without homes.
They struck just after sunset near Ofra, east of Ramallah and close to the Palestinian village of Ein Yabrud, Israeli sources reported.
Gun attacks on Israeli traffic in the area have been frequent
Rescue services and security forces rushed to the area where a bomb is also thought to have exploded.
The area has seen repeated gun attacks over the past three years.
Israeli sources said troops went into Ein Yabrud to conduct searches in the aftermath of the attack.
Haaretz online reports that those killed were travelling in a car along Road 60 when the gunmen attacked at close range.
The BBC's Barbara Plett in Jerusalem says many of the attacks previously conducted in this area have been claimed by the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.
Israel has a heavy army presence in the West Bank
Israeli Justice Minister Yosef Lapid condemned the attack, saying the Palestinians did "not realise the disaster they are bringing upon themselves".
"These madmen causing us sorrow and pain are also causing the Palestinians a deterioration into helplessness," he told Israeli television.
The ambush comes after a week of violence in the Palestinian territories, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
Fourteen Palestinians have been killed during Israeli operations in refugee camps around Rafah and searches for secret tunnels used by militants to smuggle weapons have left an estimated 1,000 people without homes.