8 Israelis Killed, 20 Wounded in Bus Ambush in West Bank

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 17, 2002

8 Israelis Killed, 20 Wounded in Bus Ambush in West Bank

Eight Israelis were killed and 20 others wounded Tuesday afternoon in a Palestinian ambush attack on a Israeli bus near the Jewish settlement of Emanuel close to the West Bank city of Qalqilya.

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Eight Israelis were killed and 20 others wounded Tuesday afternoon in a Palestinian ambush attack on a Israeli bus near the Jewish settlement of Emanuel close to the West Bank city of Qalqilya.

This was the first deadly attack on Israelis since June 20 when a Palestinian gunman killed five Israelis in the Jewish settlement of Itamar, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

The incident occurred just hours before the representatives of the Mideast quartet - the United States, Russia, the European Unionand United Nations - met in New York to discuss ways of ending morethan 21 months of violence.

In a quick response, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) condemned the attack in an official statement, reiterating peace and security would never be achieved by military and security solutions.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan also strongly condemned the attack, saying that the assault was not conducive to a peaceful solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

"This terrorist attack was clearly designed to disrupt the search for a peaceful solution to the conflict," said the statementissued by his spokesman. "The perpetrators cannot be allowed to succeed in their sinister purpose."

Following the attack, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres canceled a meeting with Palestinians scheduled for Wednesday, whichwas set to discuss humanitarian measures to ease the conditions of ordinary Palestinians.

According to witnesses, three Palestinian gunmen Tuesday afternoon disguised as Israeli soldiers set off a roadside bomb alongside the bus from Tel Aviv and fired at passengers with automatic weapons as they fled the vehicle.

Eight Israelis, including a baby, were killed and 20 others werewounded, seven still in serious condition, according to Israeli medical officials.

The attack took place at the entrance to the mainly ultra-Orthodox Jewish settlement of Emanuel, where a similar bus ambush last December left 10 people dead and 25 injured.

The gunmen fled the scene after the attack and reportedly run away in the direction of Nablus. The Israeli army launched a massive search operation to hunt them.

Four Palestinian groups claimed responsibility for the attack "in revenge for the Israeli crimes."

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, affiliated to Palestinian leader YasserArafat's Fatah movement, and the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigade, an armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), said in their respective statements that the three militants who carried out the attack have returned unharmed.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and theDemocratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) also claimed responsibility for the attack.

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