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It
is the second time a Jewish terrorist kills Palestinians in cold
blood in two weeks. (Reuters)
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OCCUPIED
Jerusalem, August 18, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) –
Israeli troops continued Thursday, August 18, forced evictions of
hardcore settlers from Gaza Strip, hours after a West Bank settler
went on a shooting spree, killing four Palestinians in cold blood,
prompting Israel's Prime Minister to call it "Jewish
terrorism".
The
four Palestinians, employed at the Shilo settlement industrial zone in
the northern West Bank, were killed by a settler from a nearby enclave
who wrested a weapon from a security guard at knife point, security
sources said, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Another
Palestinian was injured in the hail of bullets, according to Israeli
medical sources.
The
40-year-old married father of two grabbed the guard's gun, rammed down
his finger on the trigger and killed two victims sitting in his car,
the sources said.
Asher
Weisgan then opened fire at a group of Palestinian workers in the
Shilo industrial zone, killing one and wounding two others. One of the
wounded later died from his injuries in a Jerusalem hospital, an
official said.
Israeli
ambulances and helicopters were scrambled to evacuate the wounded and
dead, later named as Mohammed Mansur, Bassam Tawafsheh, his brother
Wissam, Khalil Walwil, all from villages in the northern West Bank.
Weisgan
had been a driver collecting and dropping off Palestinian workers.
The
cold-blooded crime came less than a fortnight after another Israeli
terrorist went on a shooting rampage, killing four Israeli Arabs and
wounding 22 others on a bus before being lynched by a furious crowd.
An
Israeli soldier, wearing a military uniform and the skullcap of a
religious Jew, emptied his rifle in bus passengers of Israeli Arabs in
the northern town of Shfaram late Thursday, August 4.
Condemnation
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Sharon
branded the shootings an act of "Jewish terrorism".
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The
crime was slammed by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as Jewish
terrorism aimed at impeding pullout from Gaza Strip, vowing to go on
with his plan though.
Sharon
branded the shootings an act of "Jewish terrorism... carried out
with the depraved idea that it can stop disengagement," his
office said in a statement.
The
Palestinian Authority agreed with Sharon as regards the goal of the
grisly crime.
It
immediately condemned the shootings, with president Mahmoud Abbas
appealing for "restraint" to avoid any flare-up that could
delay Israel's pullout from Gaza.
"This
crime is an attempt to sabotage the Gaza pullout," said Abbas
spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina.
But
Palestinian resistance factions were furious, with Hamas vowing to
avenge the killings.
"This
odious crime cannot go unpunished. The resistance will not sit with
its arms crossed and the Zionist enemy must face the
consequences," it said, according to AFP.
Mohammed
Al-Hindi, a leader of Islamic Jihad, also said his resistance movement
"reserved the right" to respond to the shootings.
A
mortar shell was fired at an Israeli army position in southern Gaza
where troops had evacuated settlers, according to Israeli military
sources, without reporting casualties.
Evictions
Continue
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Settlers
were dragged kicking and screaming from their homes. (Reuters)
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In
Gaza, Israeli forces were set for a showdown Thursday with the final
hardcore of Gaza Strip settlers, surrounding synagogues where
thousands of extremist Jews had taken refuge.
As
the Jewish country struggled to absorb the traumatic impact of ending
its 38-year occupation of Gaza, Israelis were united in praise for the
role of the army and police tasked with expelling fellow Jews from
their homes, AFP said.
Settlers
were dragged kicking and screaming from their homes Wednesday, the
first day of the forcible evacuation of the 21 Jewish settlements in
the occupied Palestinian territory.
Some
shredded their clothes in a sign of mourning and one woman even set
herself ablaze in protest at the historic pullout from Palestinian
land.
The
withdrawal is being completed more quickly than expected, with up to
nine settlements reported empty, and officials said the evacuation
could be wrapped up within a week "barring unforeseen
circumstances".
After
evacuating at least five settlements Thursday, Israeli forces backed
by bulldozers rolled into the Kfar Darom settlement after dawn
Thursday, seen as one of the most defiant settler bastions.
Many
of the residents headed straight to the settlement's synagogue, taking
refuge both inside and on the roof, an AFP correspondent said.
Troops,
who were bombarded with appeals to refuse their orders, waited
impassively outside the building while prayers were said inside.
Military
sources said Kfar Darom was one of seven settlements to be evacuated
in the course of Thursday along with Netzarim, Shihat Hayam, Gan Or,
Atsmona, Slav and Rafiah Yam.
At
the largest settlement of Neve Dekalim, up to 2,000 settlers and
supporters were believed to have taken refuge in a synagogue complex.
The
complex, which houses an Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Yemenite synagogue,
was completely surrounded by more than 1,000 members of the security
forces.
Hundreds
of youths were massed on the roof and the balconies of the synagogue,
waving flags and banners protesting at Israel's pullout from the Gaza
Strip.
Regional
police commander, Roni Ohana, said that 1,500 soldiers and police were
ready to move in to the synagogue when the order is given.
