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July 16, 2003
Terrorist kills one, wounds one in TA
By Matthew Gutman
Amir Simhon, 24, of Bat Yam, was stabbed to death by a Jerusalem Arab, who also wounded one other, at the Tel Aviv seaside promenade late Monday night. It was the third fatal attack since the cease-fire was declared.
In a sign of growing impatience, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom warned Tuesday that if the PA doesn't move on the issue soon, "the whole thing's going to blow up in our face."
Shalom said that Israel and the PA had an informal understanding that the PA would have some three weeks after the cease-fire started to begin dismantling the terrorist groups, as required by the road map.
"Those three weeks end this weekend," he told Army Radio. "There have been a few signs of activity but there's not the sort of action that's required."
The police reported that the Aksa Martyrs Brigades was responsible for the attack, and security sources fear it could herald the end of the cease-fire.
However, both Fatah leaders and leaders of various cells of the Aksa Martyrs Brigades denied involvement and said they remain committed to the cease-fire.
The attack came hours after Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas pledged to enforce the cease-fire. "Unfortunately, there are some violations of the truce, and we will deal with them in accordance with the law," he said.
In a series of events that according to witnesses lasted barely three minutes, the terrorist tried to gain access to the Tarabin bar/restaurant on Tel Aviv's seaside promenade at about 1:30 a.m., but was blocked by security guard Dado Zohar. After a brief struggle, he unsheathed an ornate oriental dagger, stabbed Zohar in the shoulder, and scuttled to the center of the bar, screaming "Allahu akbar" (God is great).
Hearing the cries, Gil Magnezi, the proprietor, grabbed a bar stool and rushed the terrorist, who raced out of the bar.
Magnezi and two other customers ran after him, pursuing him 300 meters down the promenade, and onto the adjacent Rehov Goldman. The terrorist slashed at anyone he could, striking down Simhon who, witnesses said, protected his girlfriend with his body.
Meanwhile, one of the pursuers, a 30-year-old lawyer from Tel Aviv, grabbed a pistol from the security guard of an adjacent restaurant and began firing at the fleeing terrorist. One of the bullets struck him in the leg, and he fell to the street. A small mob then swarmed over him and beat him.
"I was blind with rage," one of his assailants told The Jerusalem Post. "I kept stomping on his head, not thinking whether or not I would kill him."
Within seconds, police arrived, as Magnezi constantly updated them on the terrorist's location during the brief pursuit. Both the terrorist and the wounded were taken to Ichilov Hospital.
Zohar and the terrorist were placed in the same ambulance, Magnezi said.
Simhon, who worked as an inspector for the Tel Aviv Municipality, had served in the Border Police and was a member of the Civil Guard. A police spokesman said that Simhon had protected his girlfriend with his body, ultimately collapsing on top of her. Rescue teams at first feared that she was severely wounded, but a quick inspection revealed that the blood soaking her clothing was Simhon's. She was uninjured.
According to Asael Bezalel, 24, of Tel Aviv, with whom Simhon had been friends since the sixth grade, he was active in building ties between Jews and Arabs in Jaffa.
Asael added that Simhon usually carried a pistol, and had he carried it on Monday night, he might have saved himself.
The attacker told police that he had arrived in Tel Aviv in a white Fiat Uno. Police launched a search for the car, using helicopters and setting up roadblocks.
Agitated area residents expressed concern about the immediate impact of the attack on local businesses. Slumped behind the counter of his liquor store, a Christian Arab who refused to give his name said that "the situation is very sensitive right now. There are some groups that are trying to take advantage of the Arabs in Jaffa. This is a provocation, and we need to emphasize that it was not one of us that did this.
"The most important thing for the Arabs here is that everyone knows that the killer was not one of us, that the Arabs of Jaffa did not commit this terrorist attack. Hell, it could very easily have been an Arab, Christian or Muslim, who was killed last night."
He stressed that attacks discourage Jews from entering Jaffa, and said that while Jewish-Arab relations in the city are "good," there was no business in the area on Tuesday.
The Tarabin restaurant was relocated from Jaffa Port last year, because Jewish Israelis were afraid to visit the area.
"This is a place of coexistence," said Eldad Almog, a friend of Magnezi's. "But I want to ask you, what is this hudna [cease-fire]? It is a hudna only in theory. In practice, we are still being slaughtered, and now with knives."
He stressed that "people have to return here to Tarabin to show that we are not afraid, not cowed by terrorism."
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