of the biblical Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Israeli military officials and media said.
Witnesses explained that the worshippers, mainly settlers, came under fire as they walked into the West Bank town to mark the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath at what is also known as the Tomb of the Patriarchs.
Nearly all Jews in Hebron and many living in the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba walk to the Tomb every Friday evening, and the route is heavily guarded by Israeli security forces, news reports said.
ISLAMIC JIHAD "RESPONSIBLE"
The Associated Press (AP) news agency quoted Israel TV’s Channel Two as saying that the militant group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bloodshed.
Mohammed Al Hindi, an Islamic Jihad spokesman, would not confirm the claim, but stressed that "our Jihad will continue until either victory or martyrdom," AP added.
An army official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the settlers were caught "in a well-planned ambush" after the start of the Sabbath.
EXCHANGES OF FIRE
Witnesses reported exchanges of fire for about a half hour as soldiers attempting to assist civilians were also caught in an ambush that reportedly included sniper fire from the hilltop suburb of Abu Sneineh.
At least 15 and possible dozens of people were said to have been wounded during the exchanges of gun fire in an area known for tensions and violence.
An estimated 450 Jewish settlers, many of them armed live in enclaves surrounded by 130,000 Palestinians in Hebron, which was divided into Israeli- and Palestinian-controlled sectors under an interim peace deal in 1997.
PALESTINIANS ALSO SUFFER
Analysts point out that Israeli relations with Palestinians in the area deteriorated sharply in 1994, when Baruch Goldstein, a New York-born settler who lived in Kiryat Arba, gunned down 29 Muslim worshippers inside the mosque at the Tomb of the Patriarchs.
Friday’s attack, about 40 kilometres (apr. 25 miles) south of Jerusalem, came hours after Israeli soldiers reportedly shot and killed a 17-year old Palestinian boy in Nablus and a military raid the previous day.
Late Thursday, November 14, Israeli troops burst into a banquet hall in the town of Ramallah following a brief gun battle and arrested 17 activists from the militant Hamas group.
RAMADAN FAST ATTACK
The Israeli attack began at the close of the day’s Ramadan fast as the activists attended a benefit dinner organized by Kuwaiti Islamic charities, to raise money for families of Palestinians killed, injured or jailed during two years of fighting, news reports said.
Amid increased violence, several newspaper published polls Friday November 15, that indicated Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would retain his job, as Israeli voters are increasingly demanding an even harder line towards Palestinian militants.
Palestinian Christians and foreign missionary workers in the area have however expressed concern that innocent civilians and children are among those targeted, at a time when Israeli soldiers are fighting what seems an uphill battle against extremism.
