\"How can we go on this way?! I live on a street surrounded by concrete blocks against shooting from Beit Jala, my sister was in a terrorist attack, my neighbor was in an attack, and now my 12-year-old daughter says she doesn\'t want to ever get on a bus again! How can we go on?\" So cried Ronit, a resident of Gilo, this morning, as she attempted to make sense of the horrific news of the slaughter on the Gilo-Pat highway this morning. Nineteen people were killed when a suicide Palestinian terrorist exploded himself this morning aboard a Jerusalem city bus, loaded with adults on their way to work and children on their way to school.
Dozens of people were wounded in the attack, including six in serious condition, and they were evacuated to Hadassah Mt. Scopus, Shaarei Tzedek, and Hadassah Ein Karem hospitals. IDF and GSS intelligence organs are aware that the various terrorist organizations are competing with each other to see who can carry out the biggest attacks, and Arafat\'s Fatah-Tanzim and the Hamas each claimed responsibility for today\'s slaughter.
The names of only seven victims have been released thus far: Bus driver Rachamim Tzidkiyahu, 51, of Armon HaNetziv - survived by his wife and four children; Liat Yagen, 24, from Gilo; Shiri Nagari, 22, Gilo; Boaz Aluf, 54, Gilo; Leah Baruch, 59, Gilo; Gila Nekev, 55, Gilo; and Aiman Aji Kabha, an Arab college student from the village of Barta in the lower Galilee.
Police are not certain that the murderous terrorist who perpetrated the slaughter was the one for whom they were searching most of yesterday. Defense officials warned yesterday that up to five Arab suicide bombers were on their way to attacks, specifically in the Jerusalem and Haifa regions. A Palestinian suicide bomber detonated his explosives yesterday alongside Border Police near Kibbutz Bachan, killing only himself, but several other terrorists on their way to attacks were stopped in the past few days. Grave terrorist warnings continue to be received by the police and army.
The bus blew up shortly before 8 AM this morning only seconds after picking up passengers at the Beit Tzafafa bus stop on the way north from Gilo to the Pat Junction. Beit Tzafafa is a lone Arab neighborhood sandwiched between Jewish areas in southern Jerusalem. The bomb blew the sides and roof off the bus, leaving most of it as only a bare skeleton. Among the wounded were people outside the bus and in nearby cars. Moshe Elbaz, a volunteer medic for Magen David Adom who was among the first on the scene, said that when he boarded what was left of the bus to help the wounded, \"I found no wounded - only about 13 or 15 dead bodies... A fearsome sight...\"
The Moledet party plans to stage rallies in several locations in Israel tonight, calling for the \"liquidation of Arafat\" and the transfer of terrorists. Spontaneous protests against the continued carnage were held in other locations today and this evening.
Dozens of people were wounded in the attack, including six in serious condition, and they were evacuated to Hadassah Mt. Scopus, Shaarei Tzedek, and Hadassah Ein Karem hospitals. IDF and GSS intelligence organs are aware that the various terrorist organizations are competing with each other to see who can carry out the biggest attacks, and Arafat\'s Fatah-Tanzim and the Hamas each claimed responsibility for today\'s slaughter.
The names of only seven victims have been released thus far: Bus driver Rachamim Tzidkiyahu, 51, of Armon HaNetziv - survived by his wife and four children; Liat Yagen, 24, from Gilo; Shiri Nagari, 22, Gilo; Boaz Aluf, 54, Gilo; Leah Baruch, 59, Gilo; Gila Nekev, 55, Gilo; and Aiman Aji Kabha, an Arab college student from the village of Barta in the lower Galilee.
Police are not certain that the murderous terrorist who perpetrated the slaughter was the one for whom they were searching most of yesterday. Defense officials warned yesterday that up to five Arab suicide bombers were on their way to attacks, specifically in the Jerusalem and Haifa regions. A Palestinian suicide bomber detonated his explosives yesterday alongside Border Police near Kibbutz Bachan, killing only himself, but several other terrorists on their way to attacks were stopped in the past few days. Grave terrorist warnings continue to be received by the police and army.
The bus blew up shortly before 8 AM this morning only seconds after picking up passengers at the Beit Tzafafa bus stop on the way north from Gilo to the Pat Junction. Beit Tzafafa is a lone Arab neighborhood sandwiched between Jewish areas in southern Jerusalem. The bomb blew the sides and roof off the bus, leaving most of it as only a bare skeleton. Among the wounded were people outside the bus and in nearby cars. Moshe Elbaz, a volunteer medic for Magen David Adom who was among the first on the scene, said that when he boarded what was left of the bus to help the wounded, \"I found no wounded - only about 13 or 15 dead bodies... A fearsome sight...\"
The Moledet party plans to stage rallies in several locations in Israel tonight, calling for the \"liquidation of Arafat\" and the transfer of terrorists. Spontaneous protests against the continued carnage were held in other locations today and this evening.