Deadly shooting at settlement near Jerusalem
Three Israeli guards and a Palestinian gunman have been killed in an attack on an upscale JewishWest Bank settlement north of Jerusalem. Police say the gunman was spotted trying to enter among day labourers
DW—Israeli police said Monday that the Palestinian, when spotted, pulled out a pistol and killed three guards at the back entrance of the Har Adar settlement.
The attacker, a 37-year-old father of four from the adjacent Palestinian village of Beit Surik and carrier of a permit to work in Israel, was shot dead by other forces at the scene.
A fourth Israel man was evacuated, critically wounded, said Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital.
String of attacks
HarAdar straddles a line between theWest Bank and Israel proper and was an unusual target in a two-year spate of violence that has included the killings of 48 Israelis and 255 Palestinians as well as tourists and other foreign nationals.
Tuesday’s attack coincided with a Jewish holiday and a visit to Jerusalem by US envoy Jason Greenblatt for talks aimed at reviving the Middle East peace process.
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely called on Palestinian leaders to take action against such attacks, saying there was otherwise little point in the US initiative.
“The terrible attack at Har Adar is the Palestinian reception for US envoy Jason Greenblatt,” she said.
Palestinians often say the attacks stem from anger over decades of Israeli rule in territories they want to become part of a future Palestinian state.