International   

Israel braces itself for riots

SHFARAM (ISRAEL): This northern Arab town was deep in mourning on Friday as it buried four townspeople gunned down by a Jewish soldier opposed to Israel's impending Gaza Strip pullout.

Mourners heaped flowers and lit candles on a makeshift altar fashioned from window frames ripped from the bus where 19-year-old Eden Natan-Zada opened fire, killing the driver and three passengers, and wounding more than 20. An enraged mob beat Natan-Zada to death and prevented police from removing his body from the bus for hours. Thousands of police fanned out across northern Israel and Jerusalem on Friday to prevent possible rioting. Despite the tensions, mass funeral processions for the victims and Friday prayers in Jerusalem proceeded without violence, .

Loaded pistol

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sleeps with a loaded handgun under his pillow because of the threat of an assassination attempt by Jewish extremists opposed to the Gaza pullout, a newspaper said on Friday. ``Although his personal security has never been tighter, Sharon likes to keep his pistol,'' the Maariv daily reported.

The Shin Beth internal security services have reported unspecified threats against Mr. Sharon from ultranationalist Jewish groups vehemently opposed to the evacuation of all 8,000 settlers from the Gaza Strip later this month.

The assassination is perceived by the security as one of the only incidents that could derail the operation.

AGENCIES

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Time running out for submarine crew
Court opinion will not deter us: NWFP
Blair unveils anti-terror measures
Israel braces itself for riots
Italian river flowing with cocaine: study
Shoot and Scoopt: citizen as journalist
DPRK, U.S. fail to narrow differences
E.U.: Turkey rebuffs French demand
Underground quake observatory
U.S. spreading lies, says Chavez

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu