Israel Matzav

And Again... 3 dead in terror attack at Kedumim gas station

Two nights ago, I dropped my family off in Adam and went to buy gasoline at a station which is located at the entrance road to the Jewish towns of Kochav Yaakov, Psagot and Tel Zion just east northeast (I think that's the direction) of Jerusalem. As I was sitting in the gas station, in which I was the only customer, I kept thinking about how suicide bombers in gas stations in Judea and Samaria have become a new modus operandi for Palestinian terrorists.

This evening, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew up in a car in a gas station in Kedumim in Northern Samaria, murdering three Israelis. The exact circumstances are unclear and you will see two different versions below. As far as I am concerned, the suicide bombers are all the same; they just change their uniforms to suit themselves. Nevertheless the claim of responsibility credit by the Fatah-affiliated al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - a group that is ultimately under the control of Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen, the Holocaust-denying 'Palestinian President' - is yet another reminder that there really is no such thing as a Palestinian leader who does not at least sympathize with the terrorists.

Here's the story:

A suicide bomber apparently detonated an explosives-laden car next to an Israeli vehicle at the gas station at the entrance to the West Bank settlement of Kedumim, leaving three unidentified burned bodies at the scene.

Israel Radio reported that the three victims were all Israelis.

Parts of the vehicle flew as far as 60 meters.

The Al Aksa Martyrs' Brigades took responsibility for the attack, saying the bomber was Ahmad Mashrake, age 24. Other Palestinian sources indicated that the explosion was detonated by remote control, and that all of the victims were Israeli.

Conflicting media reports indicate that the dead may be either Israelis or accomplices of the terrorist who died in what may have been a work accident.

Arutz Sheva has a completely different version of the story:

An Arab terrorist from Fatah's Al-Aksa Brigade dressed as a Jewish hitchhiker and blew himself up inside the car of those who picked him up near Kedumim, in Samaria - murdering three Jews.

The attack took place at 10 PM near the gas station and hitchhiking station adjacent to the town of Kedumim.

The terror group released a statement saying the bomber was a 24-year-old from Hevron.

Shortly following the explosion, police believed the blast was a terrorist bomb that detonated prematurely, killing the bomber inside. The vehicle was engulfed in flames so preliminary reports took over an hour to begin to reflect the reality.

It now appears that the bomber dressed as a Jew, wearing a kippa (yarmulke) and hassidic garb and was given a ride by the unsuspecting occupants of the Israeli vehicle. He then blew himself up inside, killing three passengers. The number of dead remains unclear but it appears to be two at this time.

Security authorities are still emphasizing that details of the attack are not yet clear.

And to think that last night, after I drove my daughter and son-in-law to the airport, I was so tired that I violated my self-imposed policy of not taking hitchikers I don't know by picking up a lone hitchiker near Shilat at 2:00 AM....

Update 12:50 AM

Here's an updated version of that story from Arutz Sheva:

It appears that a Fatah al-Aqsa Brigade terrorist, 24-year-old Hevron resident Mahmoud Masharka was dressed as a hareidi-religious Jew, prompting the Israeli motorist to stop to give him a ride.

It remains unclear if the terrorist was hoping to make his way into Green Line Israel, perhaps to a more heavily populated area, but the bomb he was carrying did detonate, killing the occupants of the vehicle.

Murdered in the attack was an elderly Kedumim couple along with a female, reportedly a resident of the center of the country. Unconfirmed reports state she was a national service volunteer in the area [which means she was probably 18-19 years old. CiJ].

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:35 AM