Palestinian kills 3 Israeli security men
HARADAR,PALESTINIANTERRITORIES:A Palestinian opened fire at Israeli security personnel on Tuesday at the entrance to a West Bank settlement where he had worked, killing three and wounding another before being shot dead, police said.
The attack, which came as US envoy Jason Greenblatt was due in Jerusalem for talks on relaunching the moribund Middle East peace process, drew condemnation from Israeli officials who called for action from the Palestinian leadership.
It also occurred in the middle of the Jewish high holiday period, when Israeli-Palestinian violence has erupted in the past, and led police to order reinforcements to prevent further unrest.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded a clear condemnation of the attack from Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, adding that the gunman’s home would be demolished and Israeli work permits withdrawn from his extended family.
The target of the attack was Har Adar, a well-to-do settlement northwest of Jerusalem, high in the hills close to the Green Line that separates the occupied West Bank from Israel. The windows of the guard booth at its northeastern entrance, where Palestinian day labourers are required to undergo security checks, had been shattered by gunfire.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the gunman, who previously worked there, had concealed himself among other Palestinian labourers. AFP