Soldier Fires On Arabs In Hebron Five Palestinians Wounded, But Israeli Gunman’s Plan To End Transfer Of Power Only Delays Talks

An off-duty Israeli soldier determined to sabotage his country’s troop withdrawal from Hebron opened fire on a crowded vegetable market Wednesday, wounding five people and touching off a stone-throwing protest by angry Palestinians.

Nine Palestinian protesters were beaten by Israeli soldiers trying keep the crowd at bay and stop it from erecting street blockades of burning tires. The army placed Hebron under curfew.

The 22-year-old Israeli gunman, who recently was expelled from a Jewish seminary and had been advised to seek psychiatric help, was tackled by other soldiers. Israel TV reported he had been drafted into the army despite a psychiatrist’s recommendation against it.

Israeli radio stations reported that the Islamic militant group Hamas - which killed scores of Israelis in a spate of suicide bombings 10 months ago - said it would avenge the shooting.

The attack came while U.S.-brokered talks on removing Israeli troops from 80 percent of Hebron were in their final stage. Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai met for eight hours overnight Wednesday with Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s deputy, at the home of U.S. Ambassador Martin Indyk.

Mordechai said after the meeting that there were still one or two points of difference that remained, Israel radio reported.

This city of jangled nerves - home to 130,000 Palestinians and 500 Jewish settlers - had been teetering toward violence for weeks, as a long-delayed deal painstakingly nears completion.

An Israeli official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Arafat could meet late Wednesday or today to try to finish a deal. U.S. envoy Dennis Ross called on both to double their efforts: “Those who use violence cannot be permitted to be the arbiters of the future.”

President Clinton said the shooting should not interfere with the negotiations. He said he talked for about five minutes with Arafat.

Pvt. Noam Friedman, a former religious student who lived in the Maale Adumim settlement near Jerusalem, told police he wanted to scuttle the planned Israeli troop withdrawal and did not regret his actions.

Outside the Hebron police station, he smiled, his round face framed by short-cropped hair under a black yarmulke, and waved his fist in victory. “Hebron always and forever,” he declared.

The shooting stirred memories of the 1994 Hebron mosque massacre, when settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Muslim worshipers inside the Tomb of the Patriarchs, sacred to Jews and Muslims, killing 29 Palestinians.

Friedman told reporters he was “completely normal,” and wasn’t sorry. Asked why he shot at innocent Palestinians, he said: “They’re not innocent. They hate the Jews.”

Army radio said police found 200 9mm bullets at Friedman’s house on Wednesday.

Friedman grew up in a religious family in Maale Adumim. He attended a religious high school and began studying at a yeshiva, or Jewish seminary, about three years ago.

His mother, Riva, said her son’s actions struck her “like lightning on a clear day.” She said her family condemned violence and believed the conflict with the Arabs should be resolved through negotiation.

A rabbi who taught at Friedman’s yeshiva said that a few months ago Friedman started showing signs of “strange behavior.”

Rabbi Elisha Vishlitsky said he began to speak of having divine revelations. He was expelled with a recommendation to seek psychiatric help.

Israel TV said that the Maale Adumim municipality sent the army a psychiatrist’s report recommending he not be drafted. Police Minister Avigdor Kahalani said Friedman twice sought psychiatric help during his half-year of army service.

The army ordered an investigation into why Friedman was enlisted and given a rifle, Israel radio reported.

At about 9:30 a.m., Friedman walked into Gross Square in full army uniform, and stood near an Israeli army post, M16 assault rifle in hand. Facing the Palestinian market just a few yards away, he squeezed off 10 to 15 rounds of ammunition.

He wound up sitting in the street, still firing, before he was subdued.

“I heard the shots and ran in his direction. He screamed as he fired. He stood in one place and fired,” said an Israeli army officer, 2nd Lt. Avi Buskeila. It took about 10 seconds to disarm him.

Shoppers scrambled for cover when the shootings began; an elderly man stumbled as he ran, a young boy fled past a vendor’s cart.

The gunman shouted, “Don’t shoot me!” after he was subdued.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Gunman speaks As he was being taken to Jerusalem, reporters managed to shout several questions to Pvt. Noam Friedman, the Israeli soldier arrested for firing into the Hebron market. “Are you sorry?” someone asked. “No, I’m not,” he replied, his expression fixed in what seemed a smile. “Who told you to carry out the attack?” “No one,” he said. “Who gave you the weapon?” “The IDF,” he said, referring to the army. “Are you a normal person?” “Completely normal,” he answered. “Someone who shoots innocents is normal?” “They aren’t innocents,” he said. “They are haters of Israel.”