4 Israelis killed on eve of Mideast summit

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Four Israeli civilians in a car were shot dead in the West Bank on Tuesday on the eve of a U.S. sponsored Middle East peace summit in Washington, an Israel Army spokeswoman said.

“This was a terrorist attack and the army is treating it as a grave incident,” Lt-Colonel Avital Leibovitch told reporters in a telephone briefing.

Two men and two women, one pregnant, were killed in the drive-by shooting on a busy highway in the occupied Palestinian territory used by Palestinians and Israeli settlers, she said.

The United States and its allies in the search for a Middle East peace treaty have urged all parties to refrain from any action that could disrupt the resumption of direct negotiations after a hiatus of 20 months. But Israelis and Palestinians alike have predicted that opponents of a peace deal would try to derail the talks through violence.

“Security was stable for the past few years and we hope this will not cause any deterioration,” Leibovitch said. An Israeli minister also said he hoped the attack would not derail the talks.

Israeli forces in the West Bank were treating it as a grave incident and were searching for the perpetrators, Leibovitch said. She could not say how many shots were fired at the vehicle.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said: “We can confirm there are four dead at the scene.” The attack occurred after dark near the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron, where Israeli settlers live in a tiny enclave amid Palestinian residents, under the protection of Israeli army troops.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

But the Islamist Hamas movement which controls the Gaza Strip praised the killings. Hamas rejects the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank and opposes the direct peace talks due to resume formally on Sept 2.

“Hamas praises the attack and regards it as a natural response to the crimes of the occupation,” said Sami Abu-Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza.

He said the attack was proof “of a failure of security coordination” between Israel and the Palestinians — a reference to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority whose U.S.-trained forces have been credited with suppressing armed militants in their territory.

Israel army spokeswoman Leibovitch said that “this praise speaks for itself”.

“If you praise the killing of innocent civilians this is not a peacekeeping operation,” she said.

Police spokesman Rosenfeld said the incident occurred near the Kiryat Arba settlement. Israel’s Channel Two television said the Israelis had been shot from a passing vehicle.

The Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas, are due to meet U.S. President Barack Obama for dinner at the White House on Wednesday, and open formal talks on Sept. 2 — their first direct negotiations since talks broke off in late 2008. But the Palestinians are split, Hamas condemning the talks as a sell-out.

“The Hebron attack is a natural response to the crimes of the occupiers and evidence of the presence of resistance despite the war of liquidation,” said Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing.

Speeches from loudspeakers at a mosque in the northern Gaza Strip celebrated news of the attack.

Israeli Education Minister Gideon Saar, a close ally of Netanyahu who is already in Washington, said it was a shocking incident but should not halt diplomacy.

“It is very regrettable, how not for the first time, against the background of diplomatic talks aming to advance peace, the nearly automatic response of Palestinians was a terrorist attack on civilians,” Saar said.

Saar, interviewed by Israel’s Channel 10 television, said he thought “no prize should go to the murderers by not holding diplomatic talks”.

Leibovitch said she understood Netanyahu had been informed of the shooting. Reuters

Photo: Israeli ZAKA rescue service members (L) and police are seen near the vehicle which was carrying four Israelis killed in a shooting attack near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, near Hebron August 31, 2010.

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31 responses to “4 Israelis killed on eve of Mideast summit”

  1. this is not good. hammas you shouldnt praise the attack it doesnt help you.

    israel will now show its rath on west bank and gaza.

    why kill 4 when you can just let them keep making the mistakes. the own the media and they will use this so dramatically that the ignorant masses will sympathise with whatever these pigs will do next.

    god help gaza and west bank cos israel has no mercy. you kill one of them, they kill 50 of yours.

    they always feel so sorry for themselves like as if they’re the victims.

    1. Rabih Hmaydani Avatar
      Rabih Hmaydani

      Tony, I think Israel killed those people. Its funny how an explosion always happens the day the Israeli prime minister visits some country or how 6 Israeli people are killed the day peace talks are supposed to start. Guys google Alex Jones or youtube it. Watch the end game, Obama deception and others. We are all sheep.

  2. this is not good. hammas you shouldnt praise the attack it doesnt help you.

    israel will now show its rath on west bank and gaza.

    why kill 4 when you can just let them keep making the mistakes. the own the media and they will use this so dramatically that the ignorant masses will sympathise with whatever these pigs will do next.

    god help gaza and west bank cos israel has no mercy. you kill one of them, they kill 50 of yours.

    they always feel so sorry for themselves like as if they’re the victims.

  3. Leb-Syrian Avatar
    Leb-Syrian

    this is gross, what the h3ll do civilians have anything to do with their government? While yes, true the israeli gov’t doesnt care about the palestinian lives, but 2 wrongs don’t make a right, these were just common civilians (one of them even pregnant)going about their every day lives. Whoever advocates this or gives them a pat on the back, has a special place in h3ll waiting for them.

  4. Leb-Syrian Avatar
    Leb-Syrian

    this is gross, what the h3ll do civilians have anything to do with their government? While yes, true the israeli gov’t doesnt care about the palestinian lives, but 2 wrongs don’t make a right, these were just common civilians (one of them even pregnant)going about their every day lives. Whoever advocates this or gives them a pat on the back, has a special place in h3ll waiting for them.

  5. Hamas is Israel best friend, it keep given Israel the excuse to keep what they already took and to take more.

    Israel will extract 400 Palestinians for these 4 civilians and no one will blame them.

  6. Hamas is Israel best friend, it keep given Israel the excuse to keep what they already took and to take more.

    Israel will extract 400 Palestinians for these 4 civilians and no one will blame them.

  7. George Haddad N.J Avatar
    George Haddad N.J

    While you can condemn many brutal israeli actions. This definitely do not look good for Palestinians at all killing 2 pregnant women. That tells you these people are animals and do not have any regards for human lives. Also in another incident where palestinians youth killed a 60 yrs old man and left him bleeding for 50 minutes before calling for help. All that because he refused to give them cigrattes.. So then now the israelis will react with ferocious ways and we go to condenm them too. Oh what a web we weave what we practice to deceive. we want to look good in front of the international community and here are behaving just like them. I think iran looks very suspicious here in pushing this type of incident. I am sure there will be lots of people here jumping on my back for saying that. But these things are calculated and pre-meditated and its stupid and ugly crime no matter how you look at it.

    1. prophet Avatar

      Waving to my friend accross the river,HELLO GEORGE

      1. George Haddad N.J Avatar
        George Haddad N.J

        Saying hello thru the Hudson River lol.

      2. George Haddad N.J Avatar
        George Haddad N.J

        Saying hello thru the Hudson River lol.

    2. prophet Avatar

      Waving to my friend accross the river,HELLO GEORGE

    3. George, this was an ugly and unnecessary crime.

      but so is the DAILY killing of innocent palestinian women and children, INCLUDING pregnant women (that the media does not talk about) to the point where the IDF made T-SHIRTS that had a palestinian pregnant woman drawn on it and a soldier shooting at her and a caption that said: “2 birds, one stone”

      this was reported on HAREETZ by the way I am not making this up, you can search it.

      another thing, this killing, although reprehensible, was done, not by hamas, but by civilians against illegal settlers that spit on them daily. so at the end of the day, you must look at the root cause of these actions rather the actions by themselves.

      1. sorry my mistake the t-shirts said: One shot, 2 kills.

      2. sorry my mistake the t-shirts said: One shot, 2 kills.

      3. George Haddad N.J. Avatar
        George Haddad N.J.

        Cathy, Prophet and Tony and whoever interested in reading this article that i am copying and pasting. I know what you’re going to think but analyze it and let me know what you think.

        Western intelligence and Persian Gulf sources report that on August 30, Hizballah put its forces on a state of war alert and issued a partial call-up of reservists. According to debkafile’s military sources, Hizballah appears to be preparing a major attack on Israel straight after the ceremonial start of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Washington Thursday Sept. 2. A second target date is the Jewish New Year festival starting on Sept. 8. The pressure from Tehran for the Lebanese Shiite terrorists to strike Israel has intensified in the wake of the example the Palestinian Hamas gave Tuesday night Aug. 31 in the drive-by murder of four Israeli civilians on a road near Hebron.

        A large-scale attack appears to be in the works judging by the heavy influx of armed Hizballah units to southern Lebanon in the last few days. Our military sources report that they include special units trained especially for deep-strike incursions into northern Israel in response to Israeli counter-attacks.

        Our intelligence sources report that the Iranian al Qods commander of Tehran’s networks and surrogates in Iraq, the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority has spent the last ten days in Damascus. He arrived there on August 19 in the party of Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) chief and stayed on after his boss left the Syrian capital, apparently assigned to oversee an important terrorist or military operation against Israel.

        Hizballah’s own direct commander on behalf of the IRGC, Hassan Mahdavi is reported by Western intelligence sources monitoring events in Lebanon as leaning hard on Hizballah’s secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah to strike IDF forces within a few days in response to US sponsorship of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks. The terrorist chief is reported to be on the verge of a decision about what target to attack and when.

        Reluctant to leave the field to the Palestinian Hamas, Nasrallah is additionally badgered by a flock of IRGC officers visiting Beirut and trying to persuade Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Beri to allow his rival Shiite Amal organization to join Hizballah for the first time in a strike against Israel. They want all the Shiite streams in Lebanon to show the flag in unison as a gesture of welcome in advance of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s forthcoming state visit to Lebanon.

      4. quote: >>the DAILY killing of innocent palestinian women and children<>the IDF made T-SHIRTS that had a palestinian pregnant woman drawn on it and a soldier shooting at her and a

        caption that said: “2 birds, one stone”
this was reported on HAREETZ by the way I am not making this up, you can search it<<

        Such a thing could not have passed a minute in israel without a scandal, no such thing ever happened and if you are not

        making it up, as you say, why not post the link to the relevant page in haaretz, then (and only then), i'll ask your forgiveness

        for calling you a lier.

        You probably really think that israelis are a crowd of evil idiots, don't you?

      5. quote: >>the DAILY killing of innocent palestinian women and children<>the IDF made T-SHIRTS that had a palestinian pregnant woman drawn on it and a soldier shooting at her and a

        caption that said: “2 birds, one stone”
this was reported on HAREETZ by the way I am not making this up, you can search it<<

        Such a thing could not have passed a minute in israel without a scandal, no such thing ever happened and if you are not

        making it up, as you say, why not post the link to the relevant page in haaretz, then (and only then), i'll ask your forgiveness

        for calling you a lier.

        You probably really think that israelis are a crowd of evil idiots, don't you?

    4. George, this was an ugly and unnecessary crime.

      but so is the DAILY killing of innocent palestinian women and children, INCLUDING pregnant women (that the media does not talk about) to the point where the IDF made T-SHIRTS that had a palestinian pregnant woman drawn on it and a soldier shooting at her and a caption that said: “2 birds, one stone”

      this was reported on HAREETZ by the way I am not making this up, you can search it.

      another thing, this killing, although reprehensible, was done, not by hamas, but by civilians against illegal settlers that spit on them daily. so at the end of the day, you must look at the root cause of these actions rather the actions by themselves.

    5. and george no they are not animals as you called them, they are desperate, have nothing more to lose. they are treated like animals by israeli govt, even israelis recognize that…I still condemn this attack but as I said before there are other causes for this behaviour than just calling them animals.

      1. George Haddad N.J Avatar
        George Haddad N.J

        Cathy i was pointing out to you the fact about Iran pressuring Hezbollah for war..I think both sides have animals instincts in them. But when you try to subotage peace process and kill pregnant women. That’s as cowardly as it gets. I know israelis have done them wrong many times. But instead of helping your leaders to bring peace and help establish a palestinians state. You don’t go out and kill people during this unprovoked times. Now israelis will act in brutal ways and children will die. Then here we go again all over..

      2. George Haddad N.J Avatar
        George Haddad N.J

        Cathy i was pointing out to you the fact about Iran pressuring Hezbollah for war..I think both sides have animals instincts in them. But when you try to subotage peace process and kill pregnant women. That’s as cowardly as it gets. I know israelis have done them wrong many times. But instead of helping your leaders to bring peace and help establish a palestinians state. You don’t go out and kill people during this unprovoked times. Now israelis will act in brutal ways and children will die. Then here we go again all over..

  8. George Haddad N.J Avatar
    George Haddad N.J

    While you can condemn many brutal israeli actions. This definitely do not look good for Palestinians at all killing 2 pregnant women. That tells you these people are animals and do not have any regards for human lives. Also in another incident where palestinians youth killed a 60 yrs old man and left him bleeding for 50 minutes before calling for help. All that because he refused to give them cigrattes.. So then now the israelis will react with ferocious ways and we go to condenm them too. Oh what a web we weave what we practice to deceive. we want to look good in front of the international community and here are behaving just like them. I think iran looks very suspicious here in pushing this type of incident. I am sure there will be lots of people here jumping on my back for saying that. But these things are calculated and pre-meditated and its stupid and ugly crime no matter how you look at it.

  9. Its all propoganda. Can you really believe the press? Lebanon has a right to defend itself from attack. It all depends on the spin.

    1. Leb-Syrian Avatar

      Why on earth does that have anything to do with this? :facepalm:

    2. Leb-Syrian Avatar

      Why on earth does that have anything to do with this? :facepalm:

  10. well if there was a peace deal for the palestinain kiss it goodbye why killing civilian people now you give them big excuses to do whatever and they will keep showing the picture of them 4 civilians dosen;t matter what israel will do well you are happy like thats don;t cry for help later

  11. well if there was a peace deal for the palestinain kiss it goodbye why killing civilian people now you give them big excuses to do whatever and they will keep showing the picture of them 4 civilians dosen;t matter what israel will do well you are happy like thats don;t cry for help later

  12. Another stupid attempt to disrupt peace talks. Hamas has got to be the most stupid group on the planet to “praise” this attack and give Israel the excuse to back down on talk and hold a gun to their heads instead! Just because they want to hold the power they dont give a stuff about the citizens who are suffering and will suffer due to their actions or their support of it… I say let the citizens revolt and kick Hamas in the ass if they have half a brain!

  13. Very irresponsible of Hamas to praise such a stupid and inhumane attack on civilians. Whom ever is behind this attack is a retard! I could never understand the logic or mindset of anyone who rationalizes the killing of civilians, military targets and soldiers I can understand but civilians I never understood, having said that Israel is amongst the worst offenders of mass civilian killings but that’s still no excuse to kill Israeli civilians.

  14. Very irresponsible of Hamas to praise such a stupid and inhumane attack on civilians. Whom ever is behind this attack is a retard! I could never understand the logic or mindset of anyone who rationalizes the killing of civilians, military targets and soldiers I can understand but civilians I never understood, having said that Israel is amongst the worst offenders of mass civilian killings but that’s still no excuse to kill Israeli civilians.

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