Terrorist
Attack at Rabbinical Seminary in
Jerusalem Kills 8 Students,
Wounds 11
Terror
in Yeshiva Library
|
Palestinian
terrorist attack on Mercaz Harav rabbinical seminary
leaves blood
splattered
on every surface including the holy books and Bibles
in the yeshiva library.
Zaka
Photo
|
(IFM) A Palestinian
terrorist infiltrated the Mercaz Harav rabbinical seminary on Thursday
evening and opened fire on a crowded library and study hall, killing
eight people and wounding 11 others. The yeshiva, located in the
Kiryat Moshe neighborhood near the entrance to Jerusalem, is home
to several hundred students, most aged 18-30.
On Thursday evening, the yeshiva students – mostly teenagers
– had returned from prayers at the Western Wall. They were about
to begin a party celebrating the beginning of the month of Adar
– a month of joy marked by the Purim holiday. Many of the students
had gathered in the yeshiva library before the party when the
terrorist opened fire.
|
Aftermath
of the Palestinian terrorist attack on the Mercaz
Harav rabbinical seminary in Jerusalem leaves
blood covering the white floors of the library.
Zaka Photo
|
"God picks the most beautiful flowers for his garden," said
the mother of 16-year-old Avraham David Mozes, killed in the
attack.
The terrorist, a resident of East Jerusalem, was killed by an
IDF officer. The ‘Galilee Freedom Brigades’ – an Israeli-Arab
group – has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Mercaz
Harav Yeshiva is considered the leading national-religious
yeshiva in Israel, with hundreds of elite students. Among its
thousands of graduates are leading public figures including senior
rabbis and IDF officers. It was founded in 1924 by mandatory
Palestine’s first chief rabbi, Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen
Kook.
Hamas "blesses
the Jerusalem operation."
|
Dozens of bullet holes and splattered blood cover a glass
door at the Mercaz
Harav rabbinical seminary in Jerusalem.
Zaka
Photo |
Celebrations
in Gaza
Gaza’s streets filled with joyous crowds of thousands on Thursday
evening following the terror attack at a Jerusalem rabbinical
seminary in which eight people were killed. In mosques in Gaza
City and northern Gaza, many residents went to perform the prayers
of thanksgiving. Armed men fired in the air in celebration and
others passed out sweets to passersby.
Hamas issued
a statement saying the group "blesses
the (Jerusalem) operation. It will not be the last."
Reactions
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni: "The murderous
rampage against students marking a religious event exemplifies
all too well the
heinous extremism of the fundamentalist foundations Palestinian
terrorism is built upon. Israel will never allow terrorism to
achieve its goals. Despicable attacks such as this must strengthen
the free world’s understanding of the terrorist threat, in the
face of which we must stand resolute and without compromise.
Israel expects the nations of the world to support it in its
battle against the murderers of students, women and children."
|
Murdered
victims including seven children in their teens and one
adult line the floor of Mercaz
Harav rabbinical seminary in Jerusalem after a Palestinian
terrorist attack.
Zaka
Photo |
US President George Bush: "I condemn in
the strongest possible terms the terrorist attack in Jerusalem
that targeted innocent
students at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva. This barbaric and vicious
attack on innocent civilians deserves the condemnation of every
nation."
US Secy of State Condoleezza Rice: "The
United States condemns tonight’s act of terror and depravity.
This barbarous act has
no place among civilized peoples and shocks the conscience of
all peace loving nations. There is no cause that could ever justify
this action."
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a condemnation
of the "savage
attack" and decried the "deliberate killing and injuring
of civilians." The Secretary-General said he was deeply
concerned at the potential for continued acts of violence and
terrorism to undermine the political process.
The victims:
By
Jim Teeple
|
A
murdered victim of the Palestinian terrorist attack on
the Mercaz Harav rabbinical seminary is removed from
the
yeshiva
library.
Zaka Photo |
JERUSALEM (VOA)
— A Palestinian terrorist shot and killed eight people inside
the library of a rabbinical seminary in Jerusalem late Thursday.
Witnesses
say the terrorist entered the library of the Merkaz Harav
seminary and opened fire on about 80 people in the room who
were preparing
for an upcoming
Jewish religious holiday. Panicked students began jumping out of windows
and the shooting continued for several minutes.
Israeli police
spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld says the attacker was armed with
a Kalashnikov rifle and was killed on the scene.
"What
I can say is that the attacker entered the main gate of the
school, went through the entrance of the schools, opened fire
on a number of students and then was himself shot and killed
at the entrance to the library," said Rosenfeld.
Police have
identified the terrorist as a Palestinian resident of East
Jerusalem.
Moderate
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack. However,
a statement from the ruling Hamas terror group in the Gaza
Strip praised the attack, saying it would not be the last.
A spokesman for Israel’s foreign ministry says the attack was
designed to derail peace talks, but he says the talks will
continue.
In Washington,
the U.S. State Department condemned the attack as an "act
of terror" and extended condolences to the victims’ families.
Mark Regev
a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says terrorist attacks
like the one Thursday evening do not help the peace process.
"As
much as my country and my government wants to move forward
in peace with Palestinians, Hamas and the other extremists
are the greatest single problem in moving forward in peace," said
Regev. "There cannot be a peace process as long as people
do not stand up and oppose this sort of extremism, hatred and
bloodshed."
At
Least 8 Israelis Killed, Dozens Injured in Palestinian
Shooting Attack at Yeshivat Harav Center in Kiryat Moshe,
Jerusalem
(DEBKAfile) A Palestinian terrorist armed with a Kalashnikov gun and a bomb
vest stormed the Yeshiva library Thursday night, March 6, and opened automatic
fire in all directions at the scores of seminarists studying there. After
several minutes, he was shot dead by a neighboring police officer. He has
been identified as resident of the south Jerusalem suburb of Jebal Maqaber,
bearer of an Israeli identity card.
Dozens of
ambulances collected the casualties as heavy police forces
and special military units arrived on the scene and scoured
the four-story building in case more terrorists were lurking
there.
All the roads
leading in and out of Jerusalem were blocked amid a manhunt
for the killer’s confederates.
The Lebanese
Hizballah’s TV station interrupted broadcasts to name
the perpetrators of the attack as the “Imad Mughniyeh
Liberators of Galilee.”