Israeli bus gunman was army deserter

THE 19-year-old who killed four Israeli Arabs on a bus had deserted the army to protest at Israel’s upcoming withdrawal from Gaza, taking refuge in a militant Jewish settlement with his military-issued rifle.

But Israeli security forces missed that and other warning signs, including a plea by the young man’s father to find him. The incident raises questions about Israel’s ability to rein in Jewish extremists in the run-up to the pullout, even as it demands harsh action by Palestinians against Muslim radicals.

Violence by extremist Jews, though relatively rare, has altered Middle East peacemaking in the past - as did the 1994 massacre of 29 Arabs by American-born Jewish physician Baruch Goldstein, and the murder a year later of then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish fanatic.

Israeli officials vowed not to let the latest attack sabotage this month’s Gaza withdrawal, while the Arab response was restrained, a marked contrast to violent riots that erupted after similar violence in the past.

Both Israelis and Palestinians were keenly aware of recent warnings that a Jewish extremist might try to sabotage the Gaza withdrawal - set to begin in just 10 days - by attacking Arabs and diverting security forces.

So when Eden Natan-Zada opened fire on Thursday on a bus in the northern Israeli Arab town of Shfaram - killing four and wounding more than a dozen before being killed himself by an enraged mob - neither side was prepared to let it disrupt the “disengagement”, the term used to describe Israel’s plan to quit Gaza and part of the West Bank.

“We’ve been very clear, disengagement goes ahead,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev.

“Everyone understands what this obscene terrorist was trying to do and we cannot let him do it.”

Hamas militants in Gaza threatened retaliation for the killings, but mass funeral processions for the victims and Friday prayers in Jerusalem proceeded without violence.

Israeli Arab leaders announced a general strike - a measure Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi called a “very peaceful type of protest”.

Mr Regev said “appropriate steps” would be taken against anyone found to be negligent in missing the warning signs about Natan-Zada, including what Israel Radio said was his brief detention three months ago. Police could not be reached to confirm the report.