Israel arrests three men suspected in West Bank shooting attack

Israel arrests three men suspected in West Bank shooting attack

2010-12-01 02:51:08 GMT+7 (ICT)

JERUSALEM (BNO NEWS) -- Israel Security Agency Shin Bet on Tuesday arrested three Palestinian men suspected of perpetrating a shooting attack against two Israelis in the West Bank city of Hebron on September 26.

The three Palestinians belong to the Abu-Moussa group, a splinter faction of Fatah. The leader of the Abu-Moussa cell received his training in Syria and Lebanon.

The three detainees were charged at the Ofer Military Court. The have allegedly admitted plotting other terrorist attacks. During the arrest, authorities seized two M-16 rifles, a handgun, a LAW missile, a homemade explosives charger and large amounts of ammunition.

The Palestinian suspects are accused of shooting at two vehicles passing through the southern Hebron hills in the West Bank area on September 26. One vehicle did not sustain any damage but the other was pierced by bullets.

Two individuals, Sharon Zucker and his wife Neta, were lightly wounded as the attackers fired at their vehicle near the Omerim Junction. Neta Zucker was in the ninth month of pregnancy and was rushed to a nearby hospital where she gave birth to a son.

The attack took place just hours before Israel's settlement freeze moratorium was about to expire. Similar attacks were also perpetrated as diplomatic efforts were under way in order to avoid halting the direct peace negotiations due to disagreement over the West Bank moratorium.

In late August, gunmen traveling in a vehicle shot at a passing Israeli car at the entrance of Qiryat Arba, east of Hebron. Four individuals were killed including a pregnant woman. Hamas later claimed responsibility for the attack.

One day later, two Israeli citizens were wounded, one seriously, after a shooting attack near the Israeli settlement of Kochav Hashachar, east of the West Bank. This attack occurred in the eve of the resuming of direct peace talks between Israel and Palestine.

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