The Jerusalem Post (www.jpost.com) reports that Palestinian terrorists detonated a roadside bomb near the Israeli town of Emanuel killing 7 and wounding 15 unarmed civilians.

After the bomb went off, the Palestinian murderers sprayed gunfire on fleeing passengers. Among the wounded were a baby and a pregnant woman.

It was the first deadly terror attack since June 20 and came hours before representatives of the so-called "Quartet" committee - including the United States, Russia, European Union and United Nations - met in New York to discuss ways of ending more than 21 months of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

"It's a horrendous site," Assaf Yitzhaki, head of the Karnei Shomron fire station, said. He saw passengers trapped inside the bus who had to be rescued by emergency crews.

Medics at the scene quoted the injured as saying that after the initial explosion, several smaller ones went off, or grenades were thrown, followed by shooting.

I copy the full article below.

SEVEN DEAD, 15 WOUNDED AS ISRAELI BUS AMBUSHED IN WEST BANK
The Jerusalem Post, MARGOT DUDKEVITCH, July 16, 2002
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?
pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/
ShowFull&cid=1025787801707

Seven people were killed and 15 injured Tuesday after terrorists detonated a roadside bomb near an armored bus and sprayed gunfire on fleeing passengers outside the West Bank community of Emanuel, police and military officials said.

The bomb went off just 200 meters from the site of a guard post at the entrance to the settlement, as the Dan No. 189 passed by, shortly before 3 p.m. local time. Shooting then followed, said police spokesman Rafi Yaffe.

It was the first deadly terror attack since June 20 and came hours before representatives of the so-called "Quartet" committee - including the United States, Russia, European Union and United Nations - met in New York to discuss ways of ending more than 21 months of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Seven people were killed, said Shahar Ayalon, the police commander in the northern West Bank.

According to media reports, 15 people were wounded, seven of them seriously. Among the wounded was a baby and a pregnant woman, reports said.

Magen David Adom medics said three died on the bus.

The wounded were taken by ambulance to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikvah and Tel Hashomer Hospital in Ramat Gan.

"It's a horrendous site," Assaf Yitzhaki, head of the Karnei Shomron fire station, said. He saw passengers trapped inside the bus who had to be rescued by emergency crews.

Medics at the scene quoted the injured as saying that after the initial explosion, several smaller ones went off, or grenades were thrown, followed by shooting.

The bus had left Bnai Brak, near Tel Aviv at about 2 p.m., for the mostly orthodox community of Emanuel, near Nablus. The bus was an armor-coated vehicle protected against bomb attacks, Israel Radio said.

Witnesses said that three attackers were dressed in Israel army uniforms and escaped in the direction of Nablus. Soldiers gave chase after them as helicopters searched from above.

Israel blamed the Palestinian Authority for the attack.

"Israeli civilians continue to be the choice targets of Palestinian terrorists," said David Baker, a spokesman for the government, calling the attack "further proof that the Palestinian Authority considers terrorism a primary mode of operation."

An ambush on a bus in the same area December 12 killed 10 Israelis. The last terror attack occurred June 20, when a gunman killed a mother, her three children and a security guard in the Jewish settlement of Itamar, near near Nablus.

Israel's Channel Two television said the injured were not only from the bus, but from a vehicle that was driving ahead of it.

(With The Associated Press)

Hospital numbers:

Overseas callers need to dial Israel's country code 972 before the direct
numbers.

Kfar Saba Meir Hospital 125.5199
Petah Tikva Beilinson Hospital 125.5134
Ahuva Shilo, spokeswoman of the Samaria regional council - 050-926400 -
Rafi Yafe, Judea and Samaria police spokesman - 050-374237

Posted by David Melle
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