Associated Press
Jerusalem – A gunman infiltrated a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem and opened fire in a library Thursday night, killing at least seven people, officials said.
Rescue workers said at least 10 people were wounded. Government spokesman Daniel Seaman and police said there was only one gunman though initial reports said there were two.
In Gaza, the Islamic militant Hamas praised the attack but stopped short of claiming responsibility. Thousands poured into the streets to celebrate, firing rifles in the air.
“We bless the (Jerusalem) operation. It will not be the last,” Hamas said in a text message sent to reporters.
The attack came a day after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice persuaded moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to return to peace talks with Israel and on the same day Egyptian officials were trying to mediate a truce between Gaza militants and Israel.
Abbas suspended the talks after Israel launched a military offensive against Gaza militants barraging southern Israel with rockets. Palestinian officials say more than 120 were killed in Gaza during the weeklong operation. Four Israelis were also killed.
Yitzhak Dadon, a seminary student, said he was armed with a rifle and waited on the roof of a nearby building during the attack.
“He came out of the library spraying automatic fire. … The terrorist came to the entrance and I shot him twice in the head,” he said.
Medic Yaron Tzuker said he arrived as the gunfire was still going on.
“They were still shooting when we got here,” he told Channel 10 TV. “We took cover and the ambulance was hit. It’s horrible inside – dead bodies and wounded – it’s horrific.”
Another witness told Israel TV that he heard both single shots and automatic gunfire from inside the building, and it lasted for about 10 minutes.
Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben Ruby said one of the gunmen who attacked the seminary was wearing what at first appeared to be an explosives vest but turned out to be a belt holding extra ammunition.
“One or two terrorists infiltrated the Mercaz Harav seminary and opened fire in all directions,” the police spokesman said. “One terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire, and apparently he had an explosives belt.”
Hundreds of police surrounded the area and searched the campus as ambulances raced to the scene. Scores of seminary students spilled out onto the sidewalk and street outside after they were evacuated.
“There are at least seven killed and 10 people wounded,” said Eli Dein, director of Israel’s rescue service.
An hour after the attack, medics began removing the dead from the building, taking them away in ambulances.
The seminar is the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in the Kiryat Moshe quarter at the entrance of Jerusalem, a well-known center of Jewish studies identified with the leadership of the Jewish settlement movement in the West Bank.
There were no attacks by Palestinian militants in Jerusalem during 2007, though police and the military claimed to have foiled many attempts. Between 2001 and 2004, at the height of Palestinian-Israeli fighting, Jerusalem was a frequent target of Palestinian attacks, including suicide bombings on buses.
“It’s very sad tonight in Jerusalem. Many people were killed in the heart of Jerusalem,” Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski.
Earlier Thursday, Palestinian militants in Gaza set off a bomb on the Gaza border, blowing up an Israeli army jeep and killing a soldier.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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posted March 6, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Hamas is going to continue to try to screw up the Palestinians’ chances of getting peace with the Israelis, it seems. Israel, of course, now has the choice of doing something about the attacks (tighter security in and out of Gaza, for example) and risk upsetting Abbas, or doing nothing so that Hamas will keep trying this. Well…still praying for this all to work out, I guess.
God bless.
posted March 6, 2008 at 7:50 pm
I am waiting for the Jews to get enough of Hamas and wipe them off the earth. Isreal will never have peace until Hamas is gone.
God bless Isreal.
posted March 6, 2008 at 8:00 pm
And when will the Palestinians have peace, and some reasonable part of their land back or fair payment therefor?
… and in response Israel does a rocket attack that kills 15 Palestinians and in response some Palestinians do a rocket attack that kills one Israeli and in response Israel invades Gaza and knocks down x houses and kills y people and in response some Palestinians attack a seminary in Israel and kill z Israelis and in response …
This is an ongoing tragedy which is very depressing. It’s hopeful, though, that the English and Irish seem to have found some peace so let’s hope and work toward a FAIR solution.
posted March 6, 2008 at 9:45 pm
PEACE? That is an illusion so far between Israel and Palestine, and since neither side seems unable to respond to attacks, the “eye for an eye” rule is dominent in both countries.
What is extra sad is that many folks consider that part of the world, HOLY. Holy land? Sure.
posted March 6, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Rice hasn’t even made it back to Washington yet. This is further proof that either the leadrship of these parties has no control, or that they are in control and behind these murders. Neither of these bodes well for any future discussions. Rice will simply get played – again. Not that she is unique in this. Everyone who has stepped into this dog figth of 3,000 years duration has been bitten.
sad
sad
sad
posted March 7, 2008 at 7:39 am
It does not matter if they fight till Jesus comes back to redeem those who are His, The key word is Land, the land, is not, doing the fighting, the people are. Inspight of, what anybody may say, or think God knew that when He BLESSD Isarel with the land, this was going to be an ongoing issue, between his people, of who does the land belong to. Well, if God Himself, gave it to Isarel, then it’s a no brainer; And yes, Jesus Him Self said PRAY FOR PEACE IN JERUSALEM. We all know that it’s much needed, and if we join together and pray there will be a calmness and not as much Fighting. The thing is there will be no Real PEACE until Jesus comes back, and establish it.
posted March 7, 2008 at 10:57 am
|, you point out a significant part of the problem. Religion is involved along with the greed and fear, and some people find it damnably hard to give in on religion.
If they could, I wonder how many Jews would go back in time and tell whomever actually wrote the OT/Torah to just stick those pages under a rock and leave them to rot so the Jews wouldn’t have to figure so strongly in other peoples’ mythologies.
posted March 7, 2008 at 1:14 pm
The fact of the matter is this is all wrong the arabs or muslims didnt do anything to deserve what they are getting from the isreals aka jews
ya i hope to get peace between palestine and jerusalem but thats not going to happen because of the land we both want and the religous aspects of it all.
i live in palestine and its a very different perspective. most people dont have isreals coming mostly ever night to there homes and taking there brother or cousin and they didnt do anything. I dont think most people have to go through always wondering and feeling afraid that something might happen to there famly
its hard to live out here and hear gun shots every day by the isreals military and in the middle of the night they come and take more than 200 people i dont think thats far at all.
i dont think most people have to go through check points all the time. It seems like the isreals are trying to make them selfes the inocent ones and that the arabs are the horrible ones but thats wrong
im just trying to let people know that dont belive in what other people say or what u hear whats on the telivison or in the newspapers im not trying to change peoples minds or make them feel offensed but im just trying to get people to open the minds alittle. To think whats really going on in the world and who its affecting everyone else
all i have to say is right now that allah(god) will make eveything right in the end
posted March 7, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Aseel Saleh:
Thank you for the insight of a person who is living the situation. I personally can’t put myself in your place. My best to you and your family and the people of Palestine.
posted March 7, 2008 at 3:29 pm
All this fighting and killing for a large sandpile,land that many claim that their divine being gave them.
Some think that Jesus will be returning and establish peace. If that was ever going to happen, don’t you think this would be a good time? JC to the rescue!
posted March 7, 2008 at 4:55 pm
David, I’m curious how you know “their” plans. But do you even realize almost all the Palestinians are not involved in attacks on Israel? Have you bothered to consider that? But they are all being punished.
posted March 8, 2008 at 3:30 am
I don’t understand the middle east- never have and probably never will. All this fighting for land.You would think the value of the land outweighs the value of human lives, wouldn’t you. The only option we have as Gods children is to pray for peace through his grace. It is humans who take the wrong fork in the road and wrongly assume that they can fix what has been broken. So may God the Father,the Son and the Holy Spirit bring peace, wisdom and understanding to the Middle East.