Seven Israelis were murdered this afternoon and nineteen wounded when at least three Arab terrorists dressed as Israeli soldiers detonated a roadside bomb alongside a public bus near the Shomron community of Emmanuel, 20 miles east of Tel Aviv. After the initial blast, fleeing passengers were greeted by a barrage of short range gunfire from the terrorists who emerged from hiding. The Arabs also targeted passing civilians cars.
The wounded were taken to hospitals in the Greater Tel Aviv area. Initial reports indicate that most of the victims were wounded by gunfire, which shows that most of the casualties occurred once the passengers exited the bulletproof bus. Six of the wounded are in serious condition. Doctors performed a premature C-section on a woman who was lightly wounded in the attack. The woman was in an advanced stage of her pregnancy, but the baby is in an incubator at the Shneider children\'s hospital in Petach Tikva.
The same Dan Company #189 bus line, traveling from B\'nei Brak to Emmanuel, was targeted seven months ago by Arab terrorists in nearly the same location. Eleven Israelis were murdered in that attack and scores more were wounded. Following the December attack, authorities bulletproofed all buses traveling in the Shomron.
Israeli security forces who arrived at the scene opened fire at the terrorists, but they fled in the direction of the nearby PLO-controlled town of Shechem. An IDF manhunt is currently underway. Yasser Arafat\'s Fatah terror gang has taken responsibility for the attack. Hamas also claimed responsibility. The incident comes just hours before the Middle East \"Quartet\" is scheduled to meet in New York (See below).
The Israeli government released a statement blaming Yasser Arafat for the terrorist slaughter. Following the attack, Knesset Member Tzvi Hendel (National Union) called upon the government to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, send its leadership back to Tunisia, and destroy the terrorist infrastructure. MK Zevullun Orlev (National Religious party) said that a heavy price must be exacted from the leadership of the PLO. Hendel added cynically, \"I suggest that the government send the Foreign Minister [Shimon Peres] for more and more talks with the PLO murderers, and continue to strive for the establishment of a Palestinian State which will be run by murderers of the worst kind.\"
The wounded were taken to hospitals in the Greater Tel Aviv area. Initial reports indicate that most of the victims were wounded by gunfire, which shows that most of the casualties occurred once the passengers exited the bulletproof bus. Six of the wounded are in serious condition. Doctors performed a premature C-section on a woman who was lightly wounded in the attack. The woman was in an advanced stage of her pregnancy, but the baby is in an incubator at the Shneider children\'s hospital in Petach Tikva.
The same Dan Company #189 bus line, traveling from B\'nei Brak to Emmanuel, was targeted seven months ago by Arab terrorists in nearly the same location. Eleven Israelis were murdered in that attack and scores more were wounded. Following the December attack, authorities bulletproofed all buses traveling in the Shomron.
Israeli security forces who arrived at the scene opened fire at the terrorists, but they fled in the direction of the nearby PLO-controlled town of Shechem. An IDF manhunt is currently underway. Yasser Arafat\'s Fatah terror gang has taken responsibility for the attack. Hamas also claimed responsibility. The incident comes just hours before the Middle East \"Quartet\" is scheduled to meet in New York (See below).
The Israeli government released a statement blaming Yasser Arafat for the terrorist slaughter. Following the attack, Knesset Member Tzvi Hendel (National Union) called upon the government to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, send its leadership back to Tunisia, and destroy the terrorist infrastructure. MK Zevullun Orlev (National Religious party) said that a heavy price must be exacted from the leadership of the PLO. Hendel added cynically, \"I suggest that the government send the Foreign Minister [Shimon Peres] for more and more talks with the PLO murderers, and continue to strive for the establishment of a Palestinian State which will be run by murderers of the worst kind.\"