Hebron violence leaves 12 dead

At least 12 people have been killed and around 15 injured when Palestinian militants raked Israeli troops and settlers with gunfire in a carefully orchestrated ambush in Hebron – a divided city long plagued by religious tensions and flashes of furious violence.

Hours later Israeli military helicopters fired missiles into Gaza City, hitting a metal workshop in a congested area, witnesses said.

The army said it was used by Palestinian militants to manufacture weapons.

The Israelis were yesterday emerging from Sabbath prayers in the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a shrine in central Hebron, and were walking along “worshippers’ lane” when Palestinians fired assault rifles and hurled grenades from the hilltop Abu Sneineh neighbourhood, army sources said.

A nearby army post and solders rushing to the scene were also caught in the ambush, the sources said.

“There was gunfire from left and right, from every possible angle, they were shooting at us from above,” one man, who gave his name only as Arik, told Army Radio. “The group of Jews were slaughtered.”

Gun battles raged for more than 90 minutes, making it difficult for troops to reach the wounded.

Flares lit up the night sky and military helicopters helped evacuate the wounded, including the regional brigade commander – a colonel – and members of his entourage.

Troops hunted for the gunmen, and TV reports said a gun battle erupted as soldiers surrounded a Palestinian home.

The militant Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility, saying it was avenging the killing of its northern West Bank commander, Iyad Sawalha, by Israeli troops several days ago.

It was the deadliest attack on Israelis since October 21 when 14 people were killed in a bus bombing in northern Israel.

In the Shati refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, dozens of Islamic Jihad supporters rushed into the streets in celebration, some firing in the air. “This is retaliation for the daily crimes and ugly massacres committed by the Zionist occupation against our people,” one armed man said over loudspeaker.

Hours later Israeli helicopters fired missiles into Gaza City, hitting a metal workshop in the Daraj neighbourhood, the flames and black smoke visible throughout downtown Gaza City.

Ambulances and fire fighting crews rushed to the scene but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Explosive violence in Hebron can have wider implications. The city is a tinderbox of tension where politics meets religion.

The Muslims here are among the most devout and the Jewish settlers among the most radical, and there are daily provocations and practically no neighbourly relations between the two sides.

The attack came five days after a Palestinian gunman killed five people, including two small boys, on an Israeli kibbutz, and it was sure to increase pressure on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to respond decisively.

One idea that could arise again is the expulsion of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat – which Israel’s new foreign minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been strongly advocating.

There was no immediate reaction by the Palestinian Authority.

Also yesterday, in Anzar, a Palestinian village near the West Bank town of Jenin, Israeli troops killed Mahmoud Obeid, 28, an activist in Mr Arafat’s Fatah movement, as he tried to evade arrest, army officials said. Obeid’s father, Abbas Obeid, said his son was shot and killed when he opened the door to his house to look outside.

And in the West Bank city of Ramallah, several Israeli soldiers stopped a Palestinian producer with Associated Press Television News, and beat and kicked him in the legs and in the back of the head.

The soldiers continued beating him after he identified himself as a journalist. He briefly received hospital treatment before being released. The army said it was checking the incident.