Israel Matzav

Terrorists were Israeli citizens

The two 'Palestinians' who carried out a terror attack in 'East' Jerusalem last night were Arab residents of Jerusalem's Jebbel Mukhaber neighborhood, which is near East Talpiyot. Arabs who are permanent residents of Jerusalem are granted permanent residency rights and carry blue, Israeli identification cards (just like Mrs. Carl and I carry). According to Haaretz:

The incident occurred at around 8:30 P.M., when Awisat and Shihirat approached a member of the Border Police and a security guard who were standing at a roadblock near the Jerusalem periphery highway, near the Sheikh Saad neighborhood southeast of the capital. The Palestinians then opened fire on them with a pistol at close range.

YNet has an interview with one of the security guards:

Isam Abu-Rish, the Border Guard officer wounded in Saturday's shooting attack in Jerusalem, knows things could have been much worse.

"I was at the checkpoint with a few of the other guards when two ordinary looking guys showed up," he recalled from his hospital bed on Sunday. "There was nothing suspicious about them, and then all of a sudden one of them shot me in the back, from point-blank range.

"I pulled away, and I saw he was trying to take another shot, but his gun jammed, and I shot him. The other terrorist started running at me, so I shot him too.

"It was like something out of a movie," he added. "They were even shouting 'Allahu Akbar'."

Rish said he has every intention of returning to full service as a Border Guard offices when he recovers.

Police are still investigating whether a 'Palestinian' bystander who was shot and killed in the crossfire was actually a third terrorist.

Haaretz notes that shooting 'incidents' directed at security guards occur almost weekly on the periphery road around Jerusalem.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:41 PM