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Jul. 24, 2005
2 killed, 3 wounded in attack near Kfar Darom
Margot Dudkevitch and AP, THE JERUSALEM POST
Settler leaders complained early Sunday morning that the IDF was not effective enough in dealing with Saturday night’s deadly shooting attack in which a husband and wife were killed and another three Israelis were wounded. Terrorists opened fire on their vehicles on the Kissufim Route, the main access road to Gush Katif.
Dov Kol, 58, and Rachel Kol, 53, were returning to their Jerusalem home after visiting Rachel’s sister in the Gush Katif settlement of Ganei Tal when they came under fire west of Mor Bridge.
According to initial investigations, a terror cell approached the embattled road and fired an anti-tank rocket toward the busy route. When that failed to cause damage, they opened fire with automatic weapons, killing the Kols and wounding three others.
Settlers in Gush Katif said that security guards in the employ of the Hof Aza Regional Council — and not IDF soldiers — were responsible for killing one of the terrorists. They complained that soldiers who were at the scene failed to return fire at the terrorists, Army Radio reported. Soldiers searching the area found and killed another terrorist after the attack.
Additionally, they said that the local armored ambulance was detained by soldiers near Re’im Junction while it was on its way to respond to the attack.
Three terrorist groups jointly claimed responsibility for the attack, which they called a "martyrdom operation."
In a phone call to The Associated Press, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad said the attack was carried out by a member of his group, together with gunmen from the Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades and a group calling itself the Popular Resistance Committee.
"A group of our self-sacrifice martyrs … attacked an Israeli convoy of settlers and the army, causing many casualties," said the Islamic Jihad spokesman, identifying himself only by his nom de guerre, Abu Abdullah.
In response to the attack, the IDF closed Gush Katif Junction to Palestinian traffic, effectively separating the southern Gaza towns of Khan Yunis and Rafah from the rest of the strip.
All three of the wounded were taken to Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center, where they were treated and released.
The Mor Bridge, built several years ago to enhance the security of Israelis traveling on the main road, has been the focus of many terror attacks launched in the immediate area.
In December 2004, an IDF officer and an Israeli civilian were moderately wounded and three soldiers were lightly wounded when a Palestinian terrorist fired shots at vehicles traveling on the Kissufim road just west of the bridge.
In May 2004, Tali Hatuel, 34, who was eight months pregnant, and her four young daughters aged 11, nine, seven and two, were shot at point-blank range by terrorists not far from the bridge.
In March 2004, a jeep exploded near an army vehicle on the bridge itself.
In Memoriam
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