Jerusalem — Hebron heated up again this week when two Jewish woman were wounded in a shooting and a Palestinian man brandishing a toy gun was shot and killed.
On Monday, terrorists sprayed a van carrying seven baby-sitters from Kiryat Arba to Hebron, wounding Fanny Elazra, 55, and Flori Hofi, 45.
The two Kiryat Arba residents were taken to a Jerusalem hospital. Elazra suffered bullet wounds to the chest and neck. Hofi was hit in the thigh but not seriously wounded. A third woman was grazed by a bullet but did not require medical attention.
The attack occurred when two perpetrators fired automatic weapons as the van drove through narrow streets close to the Palestinian-controlled sector. The van was riddled with bullets. The attackers fled to the Palestinian-controlled area of the city.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a sharp message to Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat, following the attack.
David Bar-Illan, Netanyahu’s chief spokesman demanded that Arafat take all necessary measures to apprehend those responsible and take “vigorous action” to prevent all further attacks in Hebron.
Following the attack, Israeli police placed a curfew on the Israeli-controlled area of the city.
By Wednesday, however, a second incident was overshadowing Monday’s.
Israeli soldiers enforcing the curfew shot a Palestinian who ran toward them brandishing a toy gun that they thought was real.
The commander of the troops said the man, who later died of his wounds, appeared to be mentally unstable.
Palestinian officials’ reactions were not immediately available to Wednesday’s shooting. They reacted with mixed emotions to Monday’s incident.
“This incident is a gift for Mr. Netanyahu to come to power again,” Palestinian Authority Justice Minister Freih Abu Middein said Monday night. “I really condemn it, but Netanyahu pushed the Palestinians to be without hope. We face daily provocations by the settlers.
“I’m against [the perpetrators] 100 percent because this will harm the Palestinians and give a prize to the fanatics. My view is to let the Israeli people, the silent majority, go to their elections relaxed and in a good mood.”
Hebron’s Jewish residents recently declined an IDF offer of an armored van to transport area children, claiming that the army should take more stringent action in the area under its control.
Hebron community spokesman David Wilder said residents blame the government for a decline in security.
“The terrorists know they can get away with the attacks because no one will hunt them down. It’s clear that the IDF has lost its deterrent capability.”