Some 19 Israelis killed 120 wounded in a Palestinian suicide operation in Jerusalem
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 8/10/2001

A Palestinian teenager on Thursday carried out a suicide attack in Jerusalem resulted in killing 19 Israelis and wounding 120 many of them are in critical health conditions.

The Israeli police said that the suicide operation targeted a takeaway food restaurant in Jafa street in Jerusalem and that the executor of the operation put the explosives around his body, besides there were many gas cylinders in the restaurant that led to increasing the number of the killed and wounded persons.

Following the operation, the mini Israeli government which met on Thursday evening under the chairmanship of Ariel Sharon, gave the green light to carry out a large- scale military operation against the Palestinian territories.

Security sources in the Palestinian authorities said that the Israeli army reinforced the presence of its military forces on the cross-roads and cities especially near Jenin in the West Bank and around other Palestinian areas including southern Gaza and the border strip in Rafah to the south of Gaza.

The Ezz Eddine al-Qassam group, the military wing of the Palestinian national resistance movement ( Hamas) adopted the operation. It said in a statement circulated on Thursday evening in Nablus that the executor of the operation is " martyr Ezz Eddine Shuheil al-Masri ( 21 year old) from Aqaba village of Jenin district, north of the West Bank.

The statement added that this operation comes as a revenge to the blood of the innocent Palestinians and in defense of Jerusalem and in retaliation to the policy of assassination carried out by Israel against the unarmed Palestinian people.

Earlier, the Palestinian national resistance movement ( al-Jihad al-Islami) claimed responsibility for the operation but said later that a mistake took place led to adopting this operation.

The movement's secretary general in Damascus Ramadan Abdullah Shalah said that Hussein Abu Amsha was in his way to carry out a " martyrdom operation" when the explosion took place in Jerusalem and the movement then thought he was the one who carried out the operation. Shalah stressed that Hamas is the side which carried out the operation.

One of the leading figure of the Islamic Jihad movement Abdullah al-Shami warned that the Palestinian resistance will retaliate any Israeli attack against the Palestinians by tens of attacks and that the Palestinians are able to strongly repulse any aggression and have access to the depth of Israel despite all the restrictions placed by the occupation authorities.

Meantime, one Israeli soldier was killed near one of the Israeli settlements near Toulkarem during clashes took place between the Palestinian Intifada youth and the Israeli forces.

Three Palestinians were wounded when the Israeli tanks bombarded the southern- Eastern entrance of Toulkarem city while the Israeli helicopters were flying over Jenin.

On Thursday morning the Israeli tanks broke into al-Shujaeyah area to the east of Gaza. Palestinian security sources said that Israeli tanks incurred for hundreds of meters on Thursday afternoon in al-Mighraqa area near Natsareim settlement to the south of Gaza, coupled by Israeli military reinforcement near the Israeli settlements and the crossroads in Gaza.

On Thursday evening the Israeli tanks bombarded the center of "force no 17" of the Palestinian authorities security near Toulkarem and this resulted in wounding five persons.

News reports from the West Bank said that violent confrontations took place in the city between the Israeli army and the Palestinian Intifada youths and that similar confrontations took place near Afi Hafis near beit Sahour and Jeilo settlement near Jerusalem while the Israeli helicopters flew over Jenin city and Apatchi plane over Gaza and the Israeli tanks near Gaza moved to new places.

An Israeli military source reported the killing of other three Israelis on Thursday evening by Palestinian bullets fired from the north of the West Bank.

The four Israelis were hit in their car near Cupits Mirroraf near Jabal Jalboun to the east of Jenin.

A statement by the Palestinian national resistance movement, al-Jihad al-Islami said that " Saraya al-Quds" ( Jerusalem contingent) announces responsibility for Gaza operation, the operation which took place on Thursday at 2 p.m. ( local time).

Previous Stories:
  Israeli judiciary involved in torturing Palestinian children   (8/9/2001)
  Three Israeli soldiers hit in confrontations with the Palestinians   (8/9/2001)
  Peres supports the evacuation of Gaza settlements   (8/9/2001)

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