Nov. 19, 2003

Female tourist dies in Eilat-Aqaba attack

By Margot Dudkevitch and Matthew Gutman

Monica Patricia Teran Norte, 33, of Ecuador was killed on Tuesday morning and four others wounded by a Jordanian truck driver who opened fire at the group, which had arrived from Jordan and was gathered on the Israeli side of the Yitzhak Rabin border crossing north of Eilat.

Airport Authority security guards deployed in the terminal shot and killed the terrorist, who was later identified as a 37-year-old resident of the town Zarqa northeast of Amman. The wounded tourists and six others suffering from shock were taken to the Yoseftal Hospital in Eilat for treatment.

Norte, suffering from a severe head injury, was then airlifted to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba but died of her wounds shortly after. The condition of the other tourists who suffered gunshot wounds were described as light to moderate.

A senior security source told The Jerusalem Post that the attack has the markings of an Al-Qaida strike. Al Qaida is increasing its activity in Arab countries perceived to be pro-western — such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan — the source said, aiming to punish these state for leaning towards the West in a time of Jihad. Hitting tourists is also a well-established Al-Qaida tactic, he noted.

He also doubted that the attacks were engineered by Hamas or elements of other terrorist groups tolerated in Jordan s capital Amman. "[Hamas] would not want to risk their position in Jordan by angering and humiliating the Jordanians in such a way," said the source.

Deputy Defense Minister Ze’ev Boim said that it is not clear who was behind the attacks, but there have been a number of attempts by terrorist to infiltrate the border with Israel from Jordan in the past three-and-a-half years. "This type of attack is funded by the Iranians, the orders come from headquarters in Syria and are carried out by the Hizbullah," said Boim.

"It could be we are seeing different tactics adopted by terrorists and we could be facing a new wave of terror of this kind,‘ he said. Boim stressed however that Jordanian security officials cooperate fully with Israel and act to prevent infiltrations into Israel as they view such acts as a threat to their sovereignity. A Jordanian government spokeswoman Asma Khadr said the attack was an individual act carried out by a sole gunman. ’We condemn this incident and Jordan’s stance is clear against any acts of violence that targets civilians," she said to reporters.

Airports Authority security guard Yaniv Michaeli, 24, shot and killed the truck driver after spotting him walking carrying a blanket with what looked like a rod, passing between parked trucks heading towards the terminal. "He suddenly lifted the rod,‘ said Michaeli, ’which later turned out to be a Kalashnikov and began shooting. I realised I had to act immediately and I drew my gun and began shooting." A second security guard Samer Wahabe came to Michaeli’s assistance.

After the guards ensured that the terrorist was dead, they began checking the other truck drivers queued up waiting to enter Israel with livestock and other goods. Meanwhile, IDF forces from the Wildcat Batallion reached the site and began scouring the area on boths sides of the border in cooperation with the Jordanian authorities to ensure there were no additional terrorists in the area.

Later, Israeli and Jordanian security officials met to discuss ways of enhancing security on both sides of the border in order to prevent such incidents in the future. "We discussed immediate steps that should be taken in order to prevent such attacks in the future,‘ said Nissim Hazan, deputy director of the terminal, adding that ’the foulup came from the Jordanian side but I believe that they have plans to enhance their security."

The crossing was shut down during the search but reopened in the afternoon to allow visitors through. Trucks were however barred from using the crossing until Thursday morning.

Nissim Hazan, deputy director of the terminal, said the Jordanian truck driver worked for a number of months transporting cattle from Jordan into Israel. He waited at the crossing for at least an hour before opening fire on the group of tourists, Hazan said.

According to the usual routine, truck drivers pass through the Jordanian terminal, where they undergo security checks. Then the truck drivers leave the terminal and park in an open area located between the Jordanian and Israeli side until they are summoned by the Israeli authorities to approach and undergo the necessary security checks.

The tourists were part of a group of 29 pilgrims from Ecuador who came from Jordan to visit Israel, said Hazan, adding that they were the only ones in the terminal at the time of the shooting. "The actions of Michaeli and our other guards and workers prevented a greater disaster and more casualties,‘ said Hazan. ’They acted according to the regulations and training they received."

The rest of the tourists, who had planned to visit St. Catherine’s monastery in the Sinai, were put up at local hotels in Eilat in order to be close to their friends. Eilat mayor David Kadosh said the border crossing is busy and operates daily to cater for the influx of tourists, businessmen and trucks that travel to and from Jordan. "We have never had to deal with terror,‘ he said. ’The last time there was an act of terror in Eilat was in 1969 when a Katyusha was fired at the city from Aqaba."

In Memoriam

• Monica Patricia Teran Norte, 33

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