Five Israelis killed

middle east conflict
Yesterday, Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat be expelled from the country. The reason for this statement was the terrorist attack committed the day before in Kibbutz Mezer, where a Palestinian extremist shot five Israelis, including two young children. However, in Israel they believe that Mr. Arafat should not worry for now: he will not be touched until the start of the American operation in Iraq.
A Palestinian armed with a machine gun entered the territory of Kibbutz Metzer around midnight and entered the first house where he saw the light. There he shot a mother and her two sons, four and five years old. After that, the terrorist went to a public canteen, where he shot two more and wounded seven. One of the kibbutz guards opened fire on the killer, but he managed to escape in the darkness of the night. The search for the terrorist, organized in hot pursuit, yielded nothing. According to the Israeli military, he fled to the West Bank. Yesterday morning, the Palestinian group Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
Until recently, Kibbutz Metzer, located in northern Israel, near the border with the Palestinian Authority, lived a quiet communal life, like dozens of similar settlements. Its residents got along well with their Palestinian neighbors, who were less than a kilometer away. They, of course, heard about the terrorist attacks, but believed that they had nothing to fear. After all, they believed, we do not live in occupied Palestinian lands. In addition, kibbutzim are traditionally home to supporters of the Israeli leftist Labor party, which advocates negotiations with the Arabs and supports the creation of an independent Palestinian state. So it seems that they have nothing to share with the Palestinians, because they want the same thing. All these illusions melted away last Sunday.
However, there is a version according to which the kibbutz was not the target of the terrorists at all. The fact is that a few hours before the shooting in Metzer, not far from the kibbutz, the police detained a car with two Palestinians. The suspicions turned out to be not in vain: before the law enforcement officers had time to approach the car, a powerful explosion blew it to pieces. Apparently, kamikaze terrorists from the autonomy were heading to one of the Israeli cities in the interior of the country. It is quite possible that on the way they should have picked up their accomplice, who, without waiting for them, went to Metzer.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Metzer. Despite this, Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday demanded that the leader of the autonomy be expelled from the country. However, he made it clear that he would not insist on the immediate fulfillment of his demand. According to the Israeli media, if Yasser Arafat has to leave the country, it will be only after the start of the American operation against Saddam Hussein, when all the attention of the world community will be focused on Iraq.
However, this does not mean that the Israeli authorities will leave the attack in Metzer unanswered. Yesterday afternoon, new Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz presented his plan for retaliation to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Given General Mofaz's brutality, and the fact that this will be the first such operation under his leadership, the Palestinians are in for tough days ahead.
ALEXANDER Kommersant-REUTOV

Newspaper "Kommersant" No. 204 dated November 12, 2002, p. 10

A Palestinian entered a kibbutz