Photo by: Emil Salman

The attack on Wednesday occurred at Rimonim Junction, near the Israeli settlement of Kochav Hashachar and east of the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Around 11 p.m., there were reports of a shooting in the Rimonim Junction area, and a car was found overturned after police and emergency crews conducted sweeps of the area.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Palestinian gunmen ambushed the Israeli car, which was riddled with bullets, he said. Police are reported to have found 20 bullets, which were unloaded into the car which was attacked.

Preliminary reports said the attack was a drive-by shooting, executed in a similar fashion to Tuesday’s attack. IDF troops are continuing to scour the area for the assailants.

Hamas has claimed responsibility for both Tuesday and Wednesday’s attacks and have vowed that more attacks would come.

The group said in a short SMS message sent to reporters on Wednesday that its militants opened fire at an Israeli car and wounded two Israelis, one of them seriously.

“This attack is a message to those who promised that Hebron attack, which was carried out on Tuesday, won’t be repeated again,” said the group’s SMS message.

Abu Obeida, the spokesman for the Hamas armed wing in the Gaza Strip, said in a news briefing that the second attack in the West Bank comes “in the frame of the response to the crimes of the (Israeli) occupation.”

The victims are a couple, both in their 30s. One of the victims of the attack has been identified as Moshe Moreno, who is a rabbi for a pre-army program in the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Efrayim. He is listed as in serious condition. His wife, who was riding in the car with him, was also lightly injured in the attack.

An Israeli woman was killed near the same junction in 2002 when a terrorist shot at her car as she drove on a nearby road.

The attack on Wednesday was the second shooting in as many days against Israelis in the West Bank, and comes on the eve of the start of direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Washington on Thursday.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

3:24PM: Fox News with the celebratory reaction of palestinians to Monday’s terrorist attack, as well as the response of some Israelis.

2:58PM: Photo of the day:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after his remarks on the Middle East peace negotiations in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

But notice the caption. It speaks of Netanyahu looking at Abbas, as if staring ominously at him. But I suspect this photo was taken while Netanyahu was speaking with Abbas, since their heads are tilted towards each other like in this photo.

2:40PM: Senior Hamashole Mahmoud “Nipple-nose” al-Zahar has rejected any connection between his group’s terror attacks and the launch of peace talks.

Senior Hamas  figure Mahmoud al-Zahar said there was no connection between this week’s terror attacks in the West Bank and the launching of direct peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

In an interview with London-based Arabic daily a-Sharq al-Awsat published Thursday, al-Zahar said the attempt to link the attacks to the peace talks is “fundamentally wrong,” adding that the decision to carry out the attacks was made by “people in the field.”

“There are those who are saying the timing of the attacks was deliberate, but this is not true. When people have an opportunity, as well as the capabilities and targets, they act.”

I believe him, although I think perhaps they intensify their efforts somewhat around the time of peace talks.

11:16AM: Here is audio of Professor of politics Beverley Milton-Edwards on BBC Radio 4′s “Today” claiming Hamas “is not anti-peace” nor “anti-negotiation,” and are not “anti-Israel” but rather “anti Israeli occupation” (see link to Hamas’ charter in my previous update).

9:48AM: Ha’aretz: MESS Report / Terror attack achieved its goal – embarrassing the PA

No, actually the goal is to kill Jews. Embarrassing the PA is a bonus at best.

9:04AM: Caroline Glick writes about a new initiative designed to convince Israelis that Fatah are our peace partners.

This week in the leadup to the talks, the openly subversive Geneva Initiative has launched a multimillion dollar public relations campaign targeting the public.

Its goal is to persuade Israelis that Fatah is a legitimate partner for peace. The campaign is funded by USAID.

ACCORDING TO Yediot Aharonot, the Geneva Initiative has hired Ron Asulin, one of the country’s top directors to stage and direct commercials featuring Fatah members telling Israelis they are credible partners in peace. The Geneva Initiative invited Yediot’s Alon Goldstein to watch the recording sessions in Ramallah.

His report, published Sunday, is a fascinating glimpse at the Left’s propaganda shop.

Goldstein describes how Asulin told Fatah’s Saeb Erekat to begin his greeting with the word “shalom.”

“It will be effective,” Asulin promised.

Meanwhile, here is one of the commercials starring Erekat, with subtitles displaying what he really means (hat tip: EoZ).

6:15AM: Outrageous headline of the day: Courtesy of China’s Xinhua:

6:05AM: Full statement from Hamas on their website:

Ezzedeen Al Qassam Brigades fullfill its series of promises by carrying out a new heroic operation against hatefull Zionist settlers in West Bank. On Wednesday, 1st of September ,Al Qassam members  in the West Bank opened fire on a car driving near the illegal  settlement of Kochav Hashachar and east of the West Bank city of Ramallah, at 11p.m.

In a statement distributed by the Brigades on its website confirmed that “This operation is part of the repelling operations against the occupation assaults on Gaza Strip and West Bank, and as a legal response for the ongoing aggression against Palestinian people.”

This second operation, comes one day after Al Khalil operation caused of killing of 4 Zionist settlers by Al Qassam members in West Bank , this reveals that they are able to hit anywhere and anytime, and also sends a message to Zionist settlers and soldiers that their crimes against Palestinian residents will never pass without punishment.

Moreover, it is a message to those cowards who are still fighting and torturing the brave Mujahedeen in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

To them we say, ” You will never stop our legal resistance which represented in targeting the Zionist soldiers and settlers who are still occupying  our home land, Palestine”.

Today, our heroic operation represents a significant response to that voices who declared cowardly that Al Khalil operation will never take place once again.

It is a holy promise from Al Qassam Brigades to our people In Gaza and West Bank and to all our prisoners , martyrs and Islamic nation to continue tageting Zionist settlers in West Bank and occupied territories till the liberation of whole Palestine.

We promise that this operation will not be the last, to let Zionists in horrible fear and disability as a normal fate for their crimes against our people in Gaza and West Bank.

They have also published photos from the aftermath of the attack.

6:00AM: Speaking of Monday’s terror attack, here is how some palestinian children reacted to it.

Palestinian children, waving green Islamic flags and making a victory sign, participate a rally, to celebrate a militant attack in the southern West Bank, in the Jebaliya Refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010. A Palestinian gunman opened fire on an Israeli vehicle traveling in the West Bank on Tuesday, killing four passengers, authorities said, in a deadly attack that cast a long shadow over Mideast peace talks set to start this week. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Yeah, settlements are the obstacle to peace.

5:56AM: Phyllis Chesler of Pajamas Media rips some of the mainstream media for its treatment of Monday’s terror attack.

Excerpt:

Allow me to first quote from the Bible of the intelligentsia, aka the New York Times, which presents this incident on page 4, not on page 1; the early pages are usually reserved for all incidents in which Israelis fight back so that Israeli “evil” is seen immediately and framed as among the most “important” world news of the day. The accompanying Times headline? Unbelievably, it is this: “Killing of 4 Israeli Settlers on the Eve of Peace Talks Rattles Leaders on Both Sides.” It’s really not clear who killed the “settlers.”  What is clear is that “both sides” are “rattled.” The piece opens with a paragraph that made me see red, both literally and metaphorically. It reads as follows:

“The killing of four Israeli settlers, including a pregnant woman, in the West Bank on Tuesday evening rattled Israeli and Palestinian leaders on the eve of peace talks in Washington and underscored the disruptive role that the issue of Jewish settlements could play in the already fragile negotiations.”

Note: This opening paragraph literally blames the past and future peace failures on the Israeli settlements. The Times neither blames nor characterizes Hamas accurately. It does not say the Arab Muslim terrorist group, Hamas — the Palestinian version of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza, probably also backed by Iran and Hezbollah, and the group which is claiming responsibility for the attack — is also responsible for a deadly civil war with the not-so-moderate President Abbas; an Islamist war on Palestinian women, homosexuals, and dissidents; and a jihadic war against the Jews, which began a long time ago and which will never stop until either such terrorist leaders and their propaganda are utterly vanquished militarily or until the Jews have been driven out of the Holy Land once again.

On the contrary. The piece also positions President Mahmud Abbas as the “good” guy who, like his negotiating partner, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has “condemned” the attacks. Yes — even as Abbas is busy honoring the Palestinian terrorist who planned the Munich massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic games, Amin Al-Hindi, as well as the Palestinian terrorist Omar Muhammad Ziyada, who murdered an Israeli civilian in a human bomb homicide in 2002.

The Gray Lady does not even tell us the names of the Israeli civilian victims, nor are they in any way humanized. Their histories are not presented. They are only “particularly militant settlers”: faceless, shadowy figures. We are not supposed to care about them. We do learn what Hamas said about the attack, namely that it was a “natural response to the crimes of the Israeli occupation and its settlers.” We also learn that “hundreds” of Hamas supporters “took to the streets … to celebrate the news of the attack.”

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Hundreds of people on Wednesday attended the funerals of the four residents of the West Bank settlement of Beit Hagai who were murdered in a terror attack the previous evening near Hebron.

Talya Imes, 45, and her husband Yitzhak Imes, 47, are to be buried at the Mount of Olives cemetery, while Avishai Shendler, 24, is to be buried in Petah Tikvah and Kochava Even-Haim, 37, will be buried in Ashdod.

Beit Hagai’s synagogue filled with family members during the morning hours, and as the bodies were brought in they could be heard weeping and tearing their clothes in mourning.

The Imes couple left six orphans behind, who took shelter in each others’ arms. Moriah, Avishai’s widow, was held by the women of her family.

The Imes’s son, Ariel, eulogized the couple. “Mother, father, something changed yesterday. You were a natural part of the family, and suddenly you’re not here. I can’t believe that a mother that took such good care of us is no longer here,” he said. “Come back to me, mother.”

Momi Even-Haim eulogized his wife. “How can I say goodbye to you? I only want you to stay. I don’t want you to be hurt like this. It’s cowardice to shoot a woman in a moving vehicle like that,” he said.

“I want to tell you about everyone who came, the place is full here. You probably would have hidden in the corner and said, ‘You shouldn’t have’.”

Ha’aretz:

The families and friends of the victims gathered around the bodies at the synagogue in the settlement of Beit Hagai to pay their final respects. “I promise to raise my family and my siblings. I promise that we will all remain together. We’ll get through this. I’m sorry that I didn’t spend enough time with you,” said the Ames’ eldest son, one of their six children.

—-

Kochava’s husband, Momi Even Haim, lamented the loss of his wife, saying “My Kochava, my love, my partner, how will I say goodbye to you?”

“I’m afraid,” he continued. “I just want you to stay. Monsters, cowards, to shoot innocent civilians – only a coward would think that shooting an innocent woman was a legitimate form of warfare.”

“You and I are embarking on separate journeys. But you are not alone – you are with a group of righteous people with whom you shared a final ride,” Momi added, referring to the other victims of the attack. “I want you to know one important thing: thousands of angels are accompanying you, my righteous one. I remain behind with a giant hole in my heart.”

Avishai Schindler’s uncle, rabbi Zvi Shalva, said “during the month of Elul we get closer to God, but he wanted you closer than the rest of us. All your acquaintances, neighbors and students felt your grace and humility.”

Tali and Yitzhak Ames with five of their children

Kochava Even-Haim

Avishay Schindler

May G-d avenge their blood.

Update: And while the PA reportedly carried out arrests following the murder of these 4 innocent people, they have also honored the mother of 4 terrorists.

The Palestinian mother is a central partner in the struggle…
It is she who gave birth to the fighters, and she deserves
that we bow to her in salute and in honor.”

Those were the words of the Palestinian Authority’s Minister for Prisoners’ Affairs, Issa Karake, when he honored a Palestinian woman by awarding her “the Shield of Resoluteness and Giving.”

The Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs, Karake, honors mother of 4 terrorists with PA Shield. [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 28, 2010]
She received this honor because she is the mother of four sons who are serving a total of 18 life sentences in Israeli prisons. They all killed Israeli civilians in terror attacks.

The Minister also “praised the Abu Hamid family as a model of willpower and of the struggle for the independence of Palestine” when he visited the family with a ministry delegation, human rights organizations and released prisoners, the official PA daily newspaper reported.

The four sons are serving life sentences for the following crimes:

Nasser Abu Hamid – 7 life sentences + 50 years – commander in Fatah’s military wing the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in Ramallah. Convicted of killing seven Israeli civilians and 12 attempted murders.

Nasr Abu Hamid – 5 life sentences – Member of terror faction of Fatah, Tanzim, and convicted of involvement in two terror attacks and arms dealing.

Sharif Abu Hamid- 4 life sentences – a member in one of the brothers’ units carrying out terror attacks against civilians and soldiers. Accompanied a suicide bomber to his attack in March 2002.

Muhammad Abu Hamid – 2 life sentences + 30 years – involvement in terror attacks.

Minister Karake also chose this week to visit the home of the suicide terrorist Ayyat Al-Akhras who in 2002 entered a Jerusalem supermarket and detonated a bomb murdering two Israelis and killing herself. The minister’s visit took place on the occasion of the Palestinian “National Day for Returning the Bodies of Palestinian and Arab Shahids and MIA’s.”

The mother who received the award for having four terrorist sons was described as “Khansa of Palestine,” which is a reference to Al-Khansa, a woman from the earliest period of Islam who sent her four sons to battle and rejoiced when they all died as Martyrs. Calling the Palestinian mother by this name reinforces the message that seeking death as a Martyr is a worthy and honorable goal and that parents should proudly sacrifice their children.

Update: Footage from one of the funerals.

Israeli settlers express their anger in front of Israeli policemen after a settlers car was ambushed by Palestinian gunmen next to Kiryat Arba settlement in the southern West Bank. Four Israelis, including a pregnant woman, were gunned down in the West Bank in what Israel called a "terrorist attack" on Tuesday. (AFP)

Besides the use of the word “settlers” to dehumanize the people pictured – not to mention the murder victims – notice how the AFP caption writer suggests this was only a “terrorist attack” in the eyes of Israel.

Update: At least here, AFP refers to the victims as Israelis and is honest about Hamas’ reaction to the attack.

Photo by: Lior Mizrachi

According to initial reports, an Israeli vehicle traveling in the area came under fire directed at it from a passing vehicle at the Beni Naim junction on Highway 60.

More than one terrorist apparently took part in the attack, which security officials say was a well-planned ambush. Channel Two said the attackers apparently confirmed the death of the Israeli victims before fleeing the scene.

The victims’ death was pronounced by medical personnel at the scene. One of the victims was a pregnant woman, officials said.

Security forces and Magen David Adom ambulances rushed to the scene. Palestinian security forces were also informed of the attack, which took place just as the Ramadan fast was ending, and are looking into the incident.

I believe the timing is no coincidence. The palestinians are constantly perpetrating such attacks when”peace” talks are about to begin.

Update: Ha’arez reports that the victims were all members of the same family: two men aged 25 and 40 and two women, also aged 25 and 40.

Update: One of the victims reportedly had a license for a firearm that was suspended shortly before the attack.

Update: The PA is blaming Hamas, Hamas is being coy, and the PRC has stated it was a message to the palestinian negotiating team ahead of the resumption of direct talks (as I initially surmised).

Palestinian security forces were also informed of the attack, which took place just as the Ramadan fast was ending, and are looking into the incident. A Palestinian security official said that a Hamas cell is believed to be behind the lethal attacks. He noted that the last attack in the Hebron region, which left an Israeli police officer killed, was also the work of Hamas.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told Ynet the attack was not meant to foil direct peace talks, and said the negotiations had failed even before starting.

“This is a natural response by the Palestinian resistance to the enemy’s crimes, and is proof that despite the resistance’s persecution by the security services and despite Israel’s crimes, the Palestinians are capable of responding to these crimes.”

“This is proof that the Palestinian resistance is living, breathing, and kicking,” he said.

Addressing the Palestinian Authority’s estimate that Hamas was behind the attack, Barhoum said: “Things are not as they were described by the Authority’s security forces.”

Meanwhile, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) told Ynet Tuesday’s shooting attack was a message to the Palestinian negotiating team ahead of the resumption of direct talks with Israel.

“They should not have embarked on this move without the support of the Palestinian people,” PRC Spokesman Abu Mujahid said. “Our people still espouse the resistance and do not believe in the fictitious talks scheduled to commence tomorrow. “

Gaza protest : Palestinian women attend a protest inside the Red Cross Offices in Gaza City calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. (AFP/Mohammed Abed)

Note where exactly the photo was taken.

End the Red Cross blockade of Gaza!

I am sure this post was not what they had in mind when they asked me to cover the World Jewish Congress.

The bloodied and beaten man’s identity was soon revealed to be Tuvia Grossman, an American Jewish student in Israel, after his father wrote the following to the New York Times:

Regarding your picture on page A5 of the Israeli soldier and the Palestinian on the Temple Mount — that Palestinian is actually my son, Tuvia Grossman, a Jewish student from Chicago. He, and two of his friends, were pulled from their taxicab while traveling in Jerusalem, by a mob of Palestinian Arabs, and were severely beaten and stabbed.

That picture could not have been taken on the Temple Mount because there are no gas stations on the Temple Mount and certainly none with Hebrew lettering, like the one clearly seen behind the Israeli soldier attempting to protect my son from the mob.

Ten years late, Honest Reporting was able to bring together Tuvia – now a citizen of Israel – with the police officer who saved his life.

I will be using Twitter to post various updates from the conference. See below for my updates, as well as those of others attending.