A 14-year-old Arab boy was killed in Hebron today when a bag of explosives he was carrying detonated. Another child and an adult were injured. The explosion occurred near the Patriarchs’ Tomb, the site of a terrorist grenade incident last month in which a number of Jewish worshippers and sight-seers were injured.
Security forces investigating today’s blast linked it to a similar explosion which killed a 14-year-old Arab boy in Jerusalem several months ago. The victim then turned out to be a younger brother of two terrorist leaders responsible for grenade blasts in downtown Jerusalem and at the Tel Aviv central bus terminal.
The Patriarchs’ Tomb in Hebron has been the scene of controversy between Jewish worshippers and Moslems who object to Jews holding prayers on the site. The tomb is located within the compound of the Ibrahimi Mosque and visits by non-Moslems are restricted to certain hours. Jews however held all-day prayers there on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
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