RAMALLAH: The Israeli Left accused law enforcement authorities of being dangerously lenient with extreme rightists after the prominent Israeli historian and member of anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now, professor Ze’ev Sternhell, was wounded in a pipe bomb attack early yesterday.
Israeli police said that 73-year-old Sternhell was lightly wounded after a small pipe bomb at the entrance of his home in Jerusalem exploded, and was taken to a Jerusalem hospital for treatment.
Police speculated that the attack on Sternhell was “ideologically” motivated and was likely carried out by extreme Right wing activists. Police and Israeli internal intelligence agency Shin Bet announced the establishment of a special task force to investigate the attack. Israeli sources said that Sternhell had been receiving threats over the telephone that were reported as being ideologically motivated.
