Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 21, 1990 TAG: 9005210082
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: JERUSALEM LENGTH: Medium
The day's toll was one of the highest since the Palestinian uprising in Gaza and the West Bank began 29 months ago. Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir said he was "horrified by the atrocious crime" and called on Arabs not to be led into an escalation of violence in the occupied territories.
Palestinian leaders declared a general strike in the territories, and one warned that the shootings Sunday could reignite the uprising. More than 600 Palestinians and 42 Israelis have been killed in the revolt, but it had become less violent in recent months.
The gunman's attack, at 6:15 a.m., left seven dead and 10 wounded. Within the hour, radio and television had broadcast word of the shootings, and by midmorning the Gaza Strip, where all the victims lived, exploded in violence despite the imposition of a round-the-clock curfew.
The riots gathered strength throughout the day, with Palestinians attacking Israeli army patrols and outposts. By midafternoon, five Palestinians were reported to have been killed by troops in Gaza and two in the West Bank. Demonstrations dropped off by nightfall, but sporadic outbursts were still reported in the territories at midnight.
The bloodshed began in Rishon Lezion, seven miles south of Tel Aviv, where a 21-year-old Israeli resident with an automatic rifle and dressed in army fatigues approached an intersection where dozens of Palestinian workers customarily gather for Israeli contractors to hire them.
The police and Palestinian witnesses said the Israeli approached the group and demanded their identification cards. The Palestinians, who are required to show ID cards to soldiers and police officers on request, handed over the documents.
The Israeli glanced at the Palestinians, threw the identification cards on the ground and began shooting at the workers.
"He said, `Do you know what you're here for?' " said Jamal Abu Akar of Khan Yunis, who was wounded in the attack. "And we said, `No.' He said, `It's good you don't know,' and started shooting."
The gunman, who was described by the police as "mentally deranged" but was not identified by name, fled in Abu Akar's car, driving to his girlfriend's house in Rishon Lezion. Then he turned himself in to police.
The Israeli police commissioner, Yaakov Turner, said Sunday night on state television that the first thing the youth said when arrested was that he did it because of an "unrequited love affair." The police said the man had told his girlfriend that if she would not take him back, he would go out and kill some people.
But the police said the man also said he had been sexually assaulted by an Arab when he was 13, and that for years he had been seeking revenge.
He said his assailant was supposed to be among the Arab workers at the intersection on Sunday but did not show up, the police reported.
When asked why he attacked innocent people, he said, " `I'm confused. I don't know. I'm confused,' " according to Turner's account.
The police said the gunman had taken an assault rifle from his brother, who is in the army. The man will be sent for a psychiatric tests, the police said.
The army said the gunman was discharged a year and a half ago because he was deemed "unsuitable."
"The man was in the army for a year and a half, and more than eight months of that time in prison for all kinds of disciplinary problems," said Moshe Fogel, an army spokesman.
by CNB