Less than six hours after a Palestinian terrorist blew himself up at a bus stop in Tzrifin crowded with soldiers yesterday afternoon, murdering eight, another terrorist did the same at the Hillel Cafe in southern Jerusalem, killing seven. The explosion occurred around 11:30 PM last night.
The murderer blew himself up outside the cafe on Emek Refaim St. in the German Colony neighborhood. He apparently first tried to enter an adjacent pizza store, but was unsuccessful, and then turned to the cafe. The two guards there saw him and moved towards him; one of them, Alon Mizrachi, was killed in the course of preventing the murderer from entering the cafe. Jerusalem Police Chief Mickey Levy said afterwards that the guards had prevented an even larger number of fatalities.
Hamas' military wing Izzadin Al Kassam welcomed both attacks, though it stopped short of claiming responsibility. Arabs in Gaza celebrated the news of the two attacks, cheering and handing out candies. The two suicide terrorists were not uneducated or devoid of opportunities, but were rather university students - one in Bir Zeit University, north of Ramallah, and one in Al Quds University, north of Jerusalem.
The names of 13 of the 15 victims murdered by Palestinian terrorists yesterday have been released. The Jerusalem victims:
* Dr. David Appelbaum, 51, and his daughter Nava, 20 (see below)
* Yechiel Emil Toubol, 52, of Arnona (south of Talpiot). Survived by wife and three children
* Gila Moshe, 40, of Pisgat Ze'ev. Survived by husband and two sons
* David Daniel Abistris, 51, of Mevaseret Zion
* Alon Mizrachi, 22, the security guard, of the Geulah neighborhood. A friend said, "He always said that he wanted to save people; he jumped on the terrorist..." Another one said that Alon said recently that he had a feeling that he was going to die soon. Survived by parents and six siblings.
Seven of the eight victims in the Tzrifin attack:
* Career officer Chaim Alfasi, 40, of Haifa. Survived three sons and wife Orli, who said, "He was first and foremost a family man - a loving father, husband and son, who thought always about us."
* Prosper Tuito, 20, Nazareth Illit. Had been smiling all day after learning that he had been accepted to an IDF officers' course. Survived by parents and three younger siblings.
* Sgt.-Maj. Yaakov Ben-Shabbat, 39, from Pardes Chana. Survived by wife and three children aged 8 and under; parents; and eight siblings.
* Sgt. Yonatan Peleg, 21,Yanuv (east of Netanya), and his girlfriend Efrat Shwartzman, 19, from Ganei Yehuda. He is survived by parents and three siblings between the ages of two months and 25 years.
* Capt. Yael Kfir, 21, Ashkelon. Had ambitions to be an astronaut. She is survived by her parents and a sister.
* Corp. Mazi Garego, 19, Holon. She spoke with her mother two minutes before the blast and said that a bus had just passed the station, but did not stop because it was full. Survived by her parents, a brother and sister.
* Corp. Felix Nikolaichuk, 20, immigrated from Ukraine seven years ago with his parents and brother.
Twenty-three people are still hospitalized from the two attacks, including one in very critical condition, two in serious condition, and five listed as "moderate."
The murderer blew himself up outside the cafe on Emek Refaim St. in the German Colony neighborhood. He apparently first tried to enter an adjacent pizza store, but was unsuccessful, and then turned to the cafe. The two guards there saw him and moved towards him; one of them, Alon Mizrachi, was killed in the course of preventing the murderer from entering the cafe. Jerusalem Police Chief Mickey Levy said afterwards that the guards had prevented an even larger number of fatalities.
Hamas' military wing Izzadin Al Kassam welcomed both attacks, though it stopped short of claiming responsibility. Arabs in Gaza celebrated the news of the two attacks, cheering and handing out candies. The two suicide terrorists were not uneducated or devoid of opportunities, but were rather university students - one in Bir Zeit University, north of Ramallah, and one in Al Quds University, north of Jerusalem.
The names of 13 of the 15 victims murdered by Palestinian terrorists yesterday have been released. The Jerusalem victims:
* Dr. David Appelbaum, 51, and his daughter Nava, 20 (see below)
* Yechiel Emil Toubol, 52, of Arnona (south of Talpiot). Survived by wife and three children
* Gila Moshe, 40, of Pisgat Ze'ev. Survived by husband and two sons
* David Daniel Abistris, 51, of Mevaseret Zion
* Alon Mizrachi, 22, the security guard, of the Geulah neighborhood. A friend said, "He always said that he wanted to save people; he jumped on the terrorist..." Another one said that Alon said recently that he had a feeling that he was going to die soon. Survived by parents and six siblings.
Seven of the eight victims in the Tzrifin attack:
* Career officer Chaim Alfasi, 40, of Haifa. Survived three sons and wife Orli, who said, "He was first and foremost a family man - a loving father, husband and son, who thought always about us."
* Prosper Tuito, 20, Nazareth Illit. Had been smiling all day after learning that he had been accepted to an IDF officers' course. Survived by parents and three younger siblings.
* Sgt.-Maj. Yaakov Ben-Shabbat, 39, from Pardes Chana. Survived by wife and three children aged 8 and under; parents; and eight siblings.
* Sgt. Yonatan Peleg, 21,Yanuv (east of Netanya), and his girlfriend Efrat Shwartzman, 19, from Ganei Yehuda. He is survived by parents and three siblings between the ages of two months and 25 years.
* Capt. Yael Kfir, 21, Ashkelon. Had ambitions to be an astronaut. She is survived by her parents and a sister.
* Corp. Mazi Garego, 19, Holon. She spoke with her mother two minutes before the blast and said that a bus had just passed the station, but did not stop because it was full. Survived by her parents, a brother and sister.
* Corp. Felix Nikolaichuk, 20, immigrated from Ukraine seven years ago with his parents and brother.
Twenty-three people are still hospitalized from the two attacks, including one in very critical condition, two in serious condition, and five listed as "moderate."