MIDDLE EAST: Two Palestinian gunmen pulled up in a car outside an office of the Likud party in northern Israel, filled with members casting ballots in the party's leadership primary yesterday, and opened fire, killing six Israelis and injuring over 30.
After emptying at least three clips into the crowd in the town of Beit She'an, and tossing grenades which did not explode, the attackers were killed by a border police officer who rushed to the scene of the attack from his home nearby.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a militia associated with Palestinian Authority President Mr Yasser Arafat's Fatah party, claimed responsibility.
The group said the attack was to avenge the deaths of two militants in an explosion in the West Bank two days ago, which Palestinians blamed on Israel.
The shooting began mid-afternoon when the Likud branch was crowded with members of the right-wing party voting in the crucial leadership race between Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon and his opponent Foreign Minister Mr Benjamin Netanyahu. Polls show that whoever wins the Likud race, is likely to form the government after Israelis go to the polls on January 28th next year.
One eyewitness, Ms Galit Cohen, said she spotted one of the attackers from the window of her home. "He was wearing an army-style jacket. He was smiling, a cynical smile, and just kept firing and firing. People were screaming, fleeing, there was total hysteria." The border patrol officer shot dead both gunmen before the security forces arrived at the scene.
Mr Eran David (28) who happened to be at home at the time of the attack, said he grabbed his rifle and headed in the direction of the shooting. He fired on both of the gunmen, killing them. "I don't feel anything. I just did what I had to do," he told reporters in the aftermath of the attack.
Mr Sharon, who usually heaps blame on Mr Arafat in the wake of attacks, focused his attentions on the elections in Israel, saying Palestinian "terror organisations" were trying to influence the outcome. "The Palestinians and the terror organisations and the Palestinian Authority and also Arab states want to influence the democratic process, the elections and that terror is one of their tools," said Mr Sharon, without elaborating.
Mr Sharon, however, did not elaborate on the steps Israel might take in response to the attack.
In recent months, the Prime Minister has responded to attacks by ordering the army to reoccupy cities in the West Bank.
As after most attacks inside Israel, Mr Arafat issued a condemnation yesterday, saying he was opposed to the killing of civilians - Israelis and Palestinians alike.
Members of the militant Islamic groups, however, praised the attack. "The occupiers must understand that martyrdom operations and armed resistance will not stop until we reach our goals," said Abdullah Shami, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad.
Some Palestinian officials said yesterday the attack would not serve Palestinian interests as it would strengthen the right-wing in Israel.
Moderate Palestinian leaders have been trying to end the violence, at least in the run-up to the Israeli elections on January 28th, in the hope that this will help the centre-left Labor Party, which is lagging badly behind the right-wing Likud in the polls, largely as a result of the ongoing attacks.
- The British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair wants to bring Israelis and Palestinians together for a peace conference in London next month, the government said yesterday, despite an initial cool response from Washington.
Mr Blair has for weeks floated the idea of new talks to break the log-jam in the Middle East but officials said this was the first time he had put himself forward to make it happen and offer London as a venue.
"The prime minister would like to bring the various sides together," Labour Party chairman Mr John Reid said. "How and when that might be done is a matter for discussion."
Washington was cool to his proposal, saying it would rush the process.
But diplomats say Britain is concerned that Israeli elections, scheduled for January, should not be allowed to delay negotiations.