Security measures are being tightened throughout the country
following a car-bomb attack in Netanya Monday in which 34
people were wounded, one of them seriously, apparently
someone connected to the bombing.
Indications were that the attack was by the Islamic Jihad or
Hamas, since it was similar to the recent bombings in Tel
Aviv and Hadera. However, there was a possibility that it
was carried out by the PLO's mainstream Fatah organization,
which yesterday marked the anniversary of its establishment
as Fatah day.
In response to the attack, Israel Monday night closed the
Palestinian Authority's Gaza International Airport at
Dahaniya in the Gaza Strip, and the border crossings to
Jordan and Egypt. The IDF imposed a complete closure of
Judea and Samaria by blockading all cities and towns --
except for humanitarian emergencies -- and denying
Palestinian VIPs freedom of movement. Other unspecified
measures have been implemented as well.
The attack occurred around 7 p.m. in the heart of Netanya
near the junction of Herzl and Dizengoff, when hundreds of
people were on the streets and in shops, restaurants, and
cafes. Witnesses said they heard a series of three
explosions, which caused widespread damage to shop fronts,
and flung objects, including garbage bins, through the
air.
Police said that more than 10 kilograms of explosive had
been packed in the rear of a Mitsubishi sedan that had been
reported stolen from the center of the country three months
ago.
Shortly before the explosion, a municipal traffic warden had
even stuck a ticket on the empty car's windshield, because
the vehicle was parked illegally, partly on the sidewalk.
By Tuesday morning, the majority of those injured were
already released from the hospital, while those still being
treated all have light injuries.
Earlier, on Sunday morning, Binyamin Zev Kahane and his wife
Talya were murdered in a shooting attack by Palestinian
gunmen south of the West Bank settlement of Ofra on
Sunday.
The couple's five daughters, who were in the car, were
injured. One child, aged 4, is in serious condition, two
sustained medium injuries and two were lightly wounded. They
were hospitalized in Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Kerem
Hospital. Their nine year old son was dropped off only
minutes earlier for school. The family was on its way to
their home in the settlement of Kfar Tapuach. They were in
Jerusalem for Shabbos, and spent the night there out of
concern about night time attacks.
After the gunmen opened fire on the car around 6.40 a.m.,
from the village of Ein Yabrud, shooting some 60 bullets at
the family. The vehicle overturned and rolled down into a
ravine. Kahane was killed immediately while his wife was
critically wounded and died later of her injuries. The
village is under Israeli military control and Palestinian
civilian rule, and is north of Ramallah. On Monday, Jewish
settlers moved onto the hilltop from which the shots were
fired.
Israel radio said it was unlikely that Kahane had been
specifically targeted, but that gunmen would have known
generally when settlers were likely to be on the road.
Binyamin Kahane was the son of politician Rabbi Meir Kahane,
the founder of the banned extremist Kach movement, who was
assassinated by an Arab gunmen in New York in November
1990.
Thousands accompanied the funeral procession of Binyamin
Kahane and his wife Talya, as it wound through the streets
of Jerusalem. Several participants assaulted Arabs and
attempted to break into stores that employ Arab workers. Ten
police officers were injured in the clashes. Two Arabs were
taken to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem and police arrested
several right-wing extremists.
Feelings ran high and there was some talk of revenge.
However, the media seemed to relish the talk and to try to
fan the feelings higher. They put suggestions into the
mouths of those they talked to. One of those interviewed was
Tiran Pollack, a well-known right-wing activist. The
following translation of a transcript of the interview with
him shows how the interviewer is trying to lead him to issue
extreme statements.
Interviewer: Do you plan to avenge Binyomin Kahane's
murder?
Tiran Pollack: It's not that I intend to avenge his death. I
am certain that first of all Hashem will avenge his blood,
and that we -- the entire Jewish Nation -- will avenge his
death . . .
Interviewer: Is there a possibility that someone will hurt
the Prime Minister, because he is continuing the same
process?
Pollack: A person has to safeguard his life. He can't play
with the life of this Nation.
Interviewer: Are you speaking about the Prime Minister?
Pollack: Only him? Regretfully he receives the reports of
the GSS and of the IDF. He knows exactly what kind of mess
he is getting Am Yisroel into.
Interviewer: Is the life of Ehud Barak in danger?
Pollack: I don't know if another Prime Minister will be any
better. Sadly, we have a government; we have leaders and a
Knesset who are more like Chelmites.
Interviewer: Tiran Pollack, I am asking you again. In your
opinion, what is liable to happen to a Prime Minister who
doesn't behave the way he should?
Pollack: A prime minister should first and foremost behave
like a prime minister, and if he doesn't, "when there is no
king, the people will be wild."
Interviewer: Tell me though, will someone murder him?
Pollack: I ask you. I understand that all day the media has
been saying that it is highly possible that Barak's life is
in danger. . . I didn't say that he should be killed. . . .
You say that he has gone too far, so what do you want?
Interviewer: And you don't condemn it?
Pollack: You're asking me if it'll help if they kill Barak.
I say no! There is Shimon Peres. It won't solve a thing.
In the brief interview Pollack was asked five times if the
life of the Prime Minister is in danger. Pollack didn't
raise that possibility at all, but the interviewer repeated
that question over and over again, even trying to supply
Pollack a "justification," because Barak is continuing with
the political process.
An editorial in the Hebrew Yated noted that this is
not an interview of the media, but blatant incitement, which
puts dangerous ideas into the minds of certain people --
dangerous ideas which are presented as almost legitimate by
the media.
