Perilous Times
Jews killed where Obama demanded removal of checkpoints
Anti-terror barriers credited with stopping scores of attacks
Posted: August 31, 2010
5:20 pm Eastern
By Aaron Klein
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he delivers his
speech during his party's meeting for the upcoming Jewish New Year in
Tel Aviv August 30, 2010. Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas are expected to meet U.S. President Barack Obama ahead of the
launch of Mideast talks on September 2nd.
JERUSALEM – Today's deadly terror attack that killed four people took
place on a road where the Israeli government removed staffed
anti-terror checkpoints in line with requests from the Obama
administration, we have has learned.
As President Obama was preparing for a Washington summit with the
Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Palestinian terrorists today carried
out a shooting attack, killing two Jewish men and two women, one of
whom was pregnant.
The attack took place in the West Bank just south of the entrance to
Kiryat Arba, near the historic biblical city of Hebron.
Israeli security officials say the terrorist shooting was a coordinated
ambush.
Officially, Hamas took responsibility for the terror attack, in which
gunmen opened fire at point-blank range on a car carrying the four
Israeli civilians.
Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas, confirmed that his group was
behind the attack.
Abu-Ubaida, a spokesman for Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades,
stated today's shooting was "a link in a chain-series of attacks - some
have been executed, and others will follow."
The attack took place in the same general area where a gunman opened
fire on an Israeli police vehicle just outside Hebron in June. A police
officer was killed and two others were wounded in that shooting attack.
Israeli security officials say the shooting was a planned ambush
similar to today's attack.
Both incidents took place on Route 60, a West Bank road used by Israeli
and Palestinian drivers and patrolled by Israel.
In the last year, the Israeli government removed 19 staffed checkpoints
in the West Bank. At least 15 of the removed barriers are in the
vicinity of Hebron.
A spokeperson for the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that in the last
year and a half, all roadblocks have been removed from Route 60.
The checkpoints were dismantled in line with demands from the
Palestinian Authority that were passed on to Israel by the Obama
administration.
George Mitchell, the White House envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, specifically requested that Israel remove roadblocks and
checkpoints as a confidence-building gesture to restart talks with the
PA, Israeli officials said.
Anti-terror roadblocks and checkpoints impede Palestinian movement, but
have been credited with stopping scores of attacks.
Michael Ben-Ari, a Knesset member from Israel's National Union party,
slammed the dismantlement of the checkpoints. "The writing was on the
wall. Opening roadblocks encourages terror and gives a free hand to
terrorists," he said.
Preliminary police reports here show the gunmen today approached the
Israeli vehicle and shot the victims multiple times at point-blank
range.
The Magen David Adom ambulance authority reported the victims were two
men ages 25 and 40 and two women, also ages 25 and 40, one of whom was
pregnant.
The victims were all residents of Beit Hagai, a Jewish community in the
southern Hebron Hills.
Paramedic Guy Ronen described the shooting scene to the Jerusalem Post:
"When we arrived on the scene, all four doors of the car were open and
four bodies were strewn on the road. We saw that the vital organs had
been struck by a very large number of bullets, and that there was no
chance of saving their lives."
"It was a very difficult scene. We had learned to forget scenes like
this in recent years," Ronen added.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley, meanwhile, commented on the
terrorist attack, stating: "We are cognizant that there could be
external events that can have an impact on the environment. We also are
cognizant that there may well be actors in the region who are
deliberately making these kinds of attacks in order to try to sabotage
the process."
The attack occurred just before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
plane landed in Washington, where the Israeli leader is set to begin
direct negotiations with PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The negotiations
are aimed at creating a Palestinian state.
Members of Netanyahu's entourage said the prime minister was briefed on
the events and that he instructed Israel's security agencies to prepare
for the possibility of further attacks aimed at disrupting the
Washington summit.