Six Israelis shot dead in Palestinian attack

by Steve Weizman
The Associated Press

JERUSALEM - In one of the bloodiest days of the 17-month Palestinian uprising, gunmen shot and killed six Israelis in a West Bank assault yesterday, and Israeli raids left eight Palestinians dead.

The Palestinian attackers entered a building close to an Israeli roadblock near the village of Ein Arik and opened fire on the occupants, then escaped, Israeli television said. The army did not comment immediately.

The Al Aqsa Brigades, a militia linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, distributed leaflets claiming responsibility for the attack, Palestinians said.

The upsurge in violence increased the pressure on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to take more decisive action.

Deputy Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra said the Palestinians had taken over the element of surprise, once an Israeli prerogative.

"They attack and we defend. In the past we attacked and they defended," Ezra said. "We need to return to that ... we have to control the situation."

A group of 1,200 retired Israeli security officials proposed an immediate Israeli withdrawal from much of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the dismantling of 40 to 50 isolated Jewish settlements.

In a position paper published this week, the Council for Peace and Security said troops being used to defend the settlements should be deployed along a line close to the frontier between Israel and the West Bank.

In recent weeks, more than 200 Israeli reserve soldiers have declared they no longer will serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Earlier yesterday, Israeli airstrikes, shelling and a raid by undercover forces killed eight Palestinians, including a 14-year-old girl, according to Palestinian sources.

Also yesterday, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up seconds after he was pushed off an Israeli bus by its suspicious driver near the northern West Bank settlement of Mehola, police said. There were no other casualties.

In all, the day of carnage left 15 dead: the suicide bomber, the eight Palestinians and the six Israelis.

A total of 25 Palestinians were wounded, including five children, according to Palestinian sources.