Israel Braces For More Bombings
On alert for more suicide bombings, Israel mounted a tough blockade on Palestinian areas Sunday and deployed soldiers, bomb squads and extra police in major cities. A Palestinian was shot dead near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.
On edge after Wednesday’s double suicide bombing that killed 15 people and wounded more than 150, citizens flooded police switchboards with calls Sunday. A TV anchor had urged viewers to report suspicious objects or people.
“We have indications that there will be more attempts at terrorism,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CBS television. “We are unfortunately prepared for the worst.”
The last two victims of Wednesday’s attack, Grigory Pesachovich, 15, and Mark Rabinovich, 81, were buried Sunday in Jerusalem.
In a violent incident likely to inflame tensions in the West Bank, a 57-year-old man from the Palestinian village of Yata in the Hebron area was shot and killed Sunday.
Israel’s Channel 2 TV quoted eyewitnesses as saying the man was shot from a passing car that had Israeli license plates. He staggered to the entrance of the settlement of Carmel near Hebron, where he died, the report said.
Israel radio identified the victim as Issa Jebril Missaf and quoted local Palestinians as saying the car escaped into Carmel.