— A hand grenade thrown into a wedding hall on Mt. Zion last night fatally wounded an Arab waiter and slightly injured an eight-year-old child, Lior Cohen of Kiryat Shemona, who was one of the 200 wedding guests. The youngster was hospitalized but returned to the hall for the marriage ceremony which continued as planned.
The Arab victim was identified as Ali Hassan, 47, of Aroob village near Hebron. He was serving drinks to the guests when the grenade, of Israeli manufacture, exploded near him. He died later in the hospital.
Security forces which rushed to the scene arrested three Arab suspects. Mayor Teddy Kollek of Jerusalem also came and remained to congratulate the bride and groom, Niki Kadosh, of Kiryat Shemona, and Robi Harris, an American student at the Nave Shechter Yeshiva in Jerusalem. “It is a tragicomic that an Arab gets hurt when terrorists try to disrupt a Jewish wedding, “Kollek remarked.
Security sources noted an increase of terrorist activity in the Jerusalem area in recent weeks. They said the terrorists specialize in ambushing buses and throwing grenades. Two terrorists died recently while preparing explosives.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.