Two Israelis were killed by an Arab motorist in the West Bank and an American immigrant was stabbed by an Arab in northern Israel on Monday, in what appeared to be the latest of a string of terrorist attacks against Jews.
In addition, a 20-year-old Druse worker was shot and seriously wounded by a 57-year-old Israeli in the Golan Heights. The Israeli said he thought the Druse was a terrorist set to launch an attack on Jews.
These were only the latest incidents in a wave of violence that seems to have swept the nation and prompted a crisis of confidence in the government’s ability to protect its citizens.
Demonstrations protesting the deteriorating security situation were staged Monday in the West Bank, in the Jezreel Valley town of Afula, where the immigrant was stabbed, and outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem. Some protesters in the capital carried torches, burned tires and scuffled with police.
“There is no Jew who lives anywhere in Israel who feels safe,” said one angry demonstrator.
Earlier in the day, Jewish settlers in the Golan Heights clashed with police as they tried to cross the border with Syria to protest any territorial concessions being discussed by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who met the same day in Washington with President Clinton.
Meanwhile, at a security briefing for Knesset members Monday morning, Police Inspector General Ya’acov Terner and Police Minister Moshe Shahal warned that the violence could worsen as Palestinians mark the three-month anniversary of Israel’s deportation of 415 Moslem fundamentalists to Lebanon.
Shahal told the committee that the Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad have called for the use of force by Palestinians on Wednesday to mark the occasion.
Thousands of Moslems also were expected to pour into Jerusalem for prayers Friday to observe the end of the holy month of Ramadan, though police were expected to impose travel restrictions on Arabs in the territories.
While the security briefing was going on, two Israelis in their 20s were struck by a vehicle as they walked along the side of a road near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Eli, north of Ramallah.
Witnesses said the vehicle, described as a Mercedes truck with Hebron license plates, hit them from behind and sped off Medics arrived at the scene soon after but were unable to save the two men, who were not immediately identified.
Settlers said they were sure the collision was intended rather than a hit-and-run accident. Police found the vehicle but were still searching for the driver Monday night.
‘HAPPENS EVERY MINUTE IN NEW YORK’
In Afula, Shlomo Haber, a 21-year-old immigrant from New York, was stabbed in the back by a man from Nablus who got out of a taxi in the center of the West Bank city and began wielding a long knife and stabbing people around him before he fled.
Three people, including Knesset member Gonen Segev, pulled out pistols and chased the man, catching him without discharging their weapons. Haber’s injuries were described as light to moderate.
“It doesn’t bother me — it happens every minute in New York,” he said from his hospital bed.
Another Israeli was lightly injured in a stabbing incident Monday in the town of Beit Shemesh.
Meanwhile, the funeral for Yehoshua Friedberg, the 24-year-old soldier from Montreal who was murdered by terrorists last Friday, was scheduled for Tuesday at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl.
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