Troops conduct manhunt after bus ambush
At least one Palestinian was shot dead during the hunt, and heavy gunfire was reported around the Jewish settlement of Emmanuel, where the bus attack took place. Among those killed in Tuesday’s attack were a premature baby delivered by one of the injured, an eight-month-old girl, her father and grandmother.
The well-planned attack was claimed by three different Palestinian militant groups, but Israel blamed Yasser Arafat directly for the ambush. The attackers were disguised as Israeli soldiers. First they set off a bomb that stopped the bus, which was armour-plated against gunfire. Then they shot at the passengers and threw grenades. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said the Palestinians were harming themselves. “Instead of a government of the majority, there is a government of the rifle.”
