Palestinian terrorists, one of them apparently dressed as a woman, opened fire at hundreds of Jews who came to participate in a memorial ceremony for the Hatuel family in Gush Katif Sunday night. "Bullets whistled past our ears, and between our legs, and miraculously, no one was hurt," said Gaza Coast spokesman Eran Sternberg. IDF soldiers killed two of the attackers.
In response to the attack, IDF bulldozers have, since this morning, been demolishing 13 houses owned by Arabs that have been used as cover for terrorist attacks along the Kisufim Route into Gush Katif. The residents have long demanded such an action, which was stopped by past Supreme Court rulings.
"It was a humiliating experience for Jews who come to remember a slaughtered family to have to crouch and lie down while terrorists shoot wildly around," said David Hatuel afterward yesterday's attack. "Why can't the army protect a road just a few kilometers long? The houses that line the road must be torn down!" Hatuel lost his pregnant wife and their four daughters, aged 2-11, a week ago when Palestinian terrorists shot and killed them at point-blank range on the Kisufim entrance road to Gush Katif.
The ceremony began at 5:30 PM, at the site where the five were murdered. Aware of the dangers, the army provided extra security and decided to allow the memorial to take place. Gaza Coast Regional Rabbi Yigal Kaminetzky, Mayor Avner Shimoni and youth director Amatzia Yechieli addressed the crowd.
Several minutes after the end of the ceremony, in the midst of the afternoon Mincha prayer, shots rang out - from two sides: Dir el Balah to the northwest, and Khan Yunis to the south. The participants immediately fell to the ground (pictures can be seen on the katif.net site ), trying to find protected spots behind cars and the like, and the local security coordinators on hand returned fire. At the same time, the soldiers in the area opened massive fire towards the spot where the shots originated, in order to silence the attackers and enable the civilians to be evacuated.
Some 40 minutes later, the local council's bulletproof buses arrived; some of them positioned themselves to protect the participants, while the others began the evacuation. Women and children were taken first, followed by the men, to nearby Kisufim Checkpoint. The private cars in which the participants arrived remained along the road, and were to remain there until the army completes combing the area for additional terrorists.
Shortly after the incident began, IDF forces identified an armed terrorist in an abandoned building along the road. An IDF tank fired a shell, killing two terrorists. A third one is suspected to have taken part in the attack as well.
Mayor Shimoni pointed an accusatory finger at the Supreme Court, which has not allowed the army to raze all the buildings along the route. "The Supreme Court's hands are not clean," he said, "as it does not allow the IDF to provide full security for the country's citizens."
Israel Radio correspondent Nissim Keinan noted last night that the shots from the buildings are a nightly affair.
"We wish to make it clear over and over that the houses positioned along the Kisufim Route present a concrete danger to all those who travel on this, the only road to Gush Katif," writes Moti Sender of katif.net. "The Supreme Court decision protecting 'innocent' Palestinians that does not allow the razing of the structures along the road was made by the same judges who do not care about their brothers who live in Gush Katif and who don't try to protect them."
"Even though we're used to unpleasant situations," one participant said after the attack on the memorial ceremony, "I must admit that this one was scary. Some children were crying, but on the way out, Rabbi Kaminetzky encouraged us with words of strength."
A similar case occurred just about a month ago, when Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz visited the IDF Gaza Formation headquarters. Residents of Gush Katif arrived outside the base and protested against his support for the disengagement plan. Suddenly, terrorists standing atop tall buildings in Khan Yunis fired at the protestors, scattering them to nearby sheltered spots. No one was hurt, and IDF soldiers did not return fire.
In response to the attack, IDF bulldozers have, since this morning, been demolishing 13 houses owned by Arabs that have been used as cover for terrorist attacks along the Kisufim Route into Gush Katif. The residents have long demanded such an action, which was stopped by past Supreme Court rulings.
"It was a humiliating experience for Jews who come to remember a slaughtered family to have to crouch and lie down while terrorists shoot wildly around," said David Hatuel afterward yesterday's attack. "Why can't the army protect a road just a few kilometers long? The houses that line the road must be torn down!" Hatuel lost his pregnant wife and their four daughters, aged 2-11, a week ago when Palestinian terrorists shot and killed them at point-blank range on the Kisufim entrance road to Gush Katif.
The ceremony began at 5:30 PM, at the site where the five were murdered. Aware of the dangers, the army provided extra security and decided to allow the memorial to take place. Gaza Coast Regional Rabbi Yigal Kaminetzky, Mayor Avner Shimoni and youth director Amatzia Yechieli addressed the crowd.
Several minutes after the end of the ceremony, in the midst of the afternoon Mincha prayer, shots rang out - from two sides: Dir el Balah to the northwest, and Khan Yunis to the south. The participants immediately fell to the ground (pictures can be seen on the katif.net site ), trying to find protected spots behind cars and the like, and the local security coordinators on hand returned fire. At the same time, the soldiers in the area opened massive fire towards the spot where the shots originated, in order to silence the attackers and enable the civilians to be evacuated.
Some 40 minutes later, the local council's bulletproof buses arrived; some of them positioned themselves to protect the participants, while the others began the evacuation. Women and children were taken first, followed by the men, to nearby Kisufim Checkpoint. The private cars in which the participants arrived remained along the road, and were to remain there until the army completes combing the area for additional terrorists.
Shortly after the incident began, IDF forces identified an armed terrorist in an abandoned building along the road. An IDF tank fired a shell, killing two terrorists. A third one is suspected to have taken part in the attack as well.
Mayor Shimoni pointed an accusatory finger at the Supreme Court, which has not allowed the army to raze all the buildings along the route. "The Supreme Court's hands are not clean," he said, "as it does not allow the IDF to provide full security for the country's citizens."
Israel Radio correspondent Nissim Keinan noted last night that the shots from the buildings are a nightly affair.
"We wish to make it clear over and over that the houses positioned along the Kisufim Route present a concrete danger to all those who travel on this, the only road to Gush Katif," writes Moti Sender of katif.net. "The Supreme Court decision protecting 'innocent' Palestinians that does not allow the razing of the structures along the road was made by the same judges who do not care about their brothers who live in Gush Katif and who don't try to protect them."
"Even though we're used to unpleasant situations," one participant said after the attack on the memorial ceremony, "I must admit that this one was scary. Some children were crying, but on the way out, Rabbi Kaminetzky encouraged us with words of strength."
A similar case occurred just about a month ago, when Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz visited the IDF Gaza Formation headquarters. Residents of Gush Katif arrived outside the base and protested against his support for the disengagement plan. Suddenly, terrorists standing atop tall buildings in Khan Yunis fired at the protestors, scattering them to nearby sheltered spots. No one was hurt, and IDF soldiers did not return fire.