RAMALLAH: Hamas yesterday hailed a Jerusalem attack in which a Palestinian man slammed his car into a group of soldiers, wounding 13, before he was shot dead.
“The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades welcome the operation in Jerusalem which was a natural and legitimate response by the Palestinian people,” the military wing of the resistance movement said in a statement issued in the Gaza Strip.
“This operation represents the continuation of the holy Jerusalem intifada, a legitimate right and a response ... to the murders, arrests and house demolitions, the Judaization of the holy sites and land expropriations,” the statement said.
Police identified the attacker as Qasem Mughrabi, 19, from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Jebel Mukaber. They said he carried out the attack after his cousin refused to marry him.
Relatives said Mughrabi had no known connection to any Palestinian political group and had stolen the car from his brother.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a security assessment overnight, and discussed the need to demolish the houses of resistance fighters as a measure of deterrence: “We need to take legal action in order to drastically expedite the (legal) process, so we can take action shortly after an attack happens and deter any future potential terrorists,” he said.
According to Israeli security source, if the military is unable to use razing as an immediate punitive action, it loses its effect: “Waiting for months on end for the go-ahead is unheard of. It sends the exact opposite message to anyone contemplating carrying out an attack.” “We have to find the way to act swiftly, so anyone thinking about an attack would see its potential results and effects on their life.” The Israeli forces seems somewhat frustrated as the success of it efforts to thwart attacks emanating from the West Bank in clouded by its inability to foil attacks originating from East Jerusalem. “We have to change the way in which we deal with such fighters,” another military source said. The defense establishment noted that over the past few years there has been an increase in the number of East Jerusalem residents involved in attacks, adding that only decisive action in the area – which houses some 290,000 Palestinians – can make a difference. According to Israeli internal intelligence agency, Shin Bet, data, 340 east Jerusalem fighters have been arrested between 2001 and June of 2008.
— With input from agencies
