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Israeli minister shot in head October 17, 2001 Posted: 2:03 AM EDT (0603 GMT)

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A senior Israeli government minister has been shot in the head in an assassination attempt, police say.

Rehavam Zeevi, a far-right member of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government, was taken to Hadassa Hospital hospital in Jerusalem after being shot at a hotel early Wednesday morning.

CNN's Jerrold Kessel said Zeevi had been seriously injured in the shooting.

Zeevi, minister for tourism, had resigned nearly 48 hours earlier, along with another right-wing minister, over concessions to the Palestinians he believed were being made by Sharon.

His resignation would have taken effect on Wednesday. Kessel said it was unclear whether Zeemi had any armed bodyguards with him.

News agencies are saying two men were involved in the shooting, which happened at the Hyatt Hotel in east Jerusalem where Zeemi stayed when parliament was sitting.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Reuters news agency quoted police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby as saying three shots were fired at Zeevi, who was at the entrance to his room in the hotel.

His wife, who had been with him in the dining room, went up to the room and found him lying in the corridor, he added.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

Answers

08:12 Oct-17-01, 30 Tishrei 5762

PFLP Claims Responsibility for Assassination Attempt on Government Minister (IsraelNationalNews.com) A message was sent to the AFP News Agency in Jerusalem in the name of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claiming responsibility for the Wednesday morning assassination attempt of Minister of Tourism Rechavam Ze’evi.

At this time, Ze’evi continues to struggle for his life in Jerusalem’s Hadassah trauma unit with gunshot wounds to his head and neck.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

Link

Condition Worsens

(08:40) Hospital source: Ze'evi's condition worsens

The condition of outgoing Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi continues to worsen at this time, Prof. Shmuel Shapira, director of Hadassah- University Hospital, Ein Kerem.

"There is no improvement," Shapira told Israel Radio. "His condition continues to deteriorate towards very critical, but he has passed the first stage in the treatment of his wounds... I wouldn't want to get into his statistical chances. It is a very serious wound."

Doctors have completed a CT scan of Ze'evi and he is now being transferred to an urgent care ward.

[posted update 2:35CDT]

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml? xml=/news/2001/10/17/uzee.xml

Israeli minister shot dead (Filed: 17/10/2001)

A GUNMAN this morning shot dead Israel's ultranationalist tourism minister, Rehavam Zeevi, 75.

He was ambushed in a Jerusalem hotel in what a militant Palestinian group described as revenge for the killing of their leader.

Killed: Rehavam Zeevi The gunman struck on the eighth floor of Jerusalem's Hyatt Hotel, at the entrance to his room, shooting him three times at close range in the head and throat. His wife found him lying in the corridor. He died three hours later at the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a radical PLO faction, said the shooting came as revenge for the death of its leader, Mustafa Zibri, in August. Israel said Zibri was involved in bombing attacks on Israelis.

A PFLP statement said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "has to know that Palestinian blood is not cheap and that those who target the leaders of the Palestinian people are not safe from being targeted and assassinated themselves."

Sharon has called an emergency Cabinet meeting.

Jack Straw, the British Foreign Minister, said: "This underlines the need for there to be a peace process. It underlines as well the potential for extremists to seek to disrupt that process."

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

Well, the Israelis hve shot three Hamas officials dead in the last few days, so I guess this was not entirely unexpected. So much for the peace process.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

I wonder what they would all do if everyone got what they wanted. There would be no need to fight any longer, so what would they do?

Just another reason [not that we needed one~!] to make sure we are personally prepared here at home.

I am beginning to think that a bomb shelter [remember the Cuban Missile Crisis?] might not be such a bad idea.

Did you hear about those guys in Florida that are suing bin laden because of high blood pressure? something like 17 million, or was that billion... they expect to have him pay for fortifying their bomb shelters, too.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/290/world/Israel_s_tourism_minister_ki ll:.shtml

Israel's tourism minister killed by Palestinians; Sharon calls for 'war' on terror

By Greg Myre, Associated Press, 10/17/2001 18:02

JERUSALEM (AP) Israel's tourism minister, a retired general who advocated the expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza, was assassinated Wednesday in a hotel hallway a killing claimed by a radical Palestinian group.

Rehavam Zeevi, 75, was the first Cabinet minister to be slain by Palestinians. His killing provoked outrage in Israel and raised the specter of a new outburst of violence at a time when Israel and the Palestinians are trying to patch up a shaky U.S.-supported truce deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pledged ''a war to the finish against the terrorists, their helpers and those who sent them.''

Israel swiftly reimposed travel restrictions in the West Bank that had been eased this week as part of the Sept. 26 cease-fire deal.

The Israeli security Cabinet was meeting later Wednesday, and Sharon spokesman Arnon Perlman indicated a military strike was an option.

''What happened today requires a reassessment in all fields military, political and international,'' Perlman said. ''This reassessment will have profound significance.''

Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority denounced the assassination of Zeevi, but Israel said that wasn't sufficient; it demanded the arrest and extradition of those responsible. The United States and European nations were also pressing the Palestinians to make arrests, a senior Palestinian security source said.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for Zeevi's slaying, calling it revenge for the Aug. 27 killing of its leader Mustafa Zibri in an Israeli missile attack. Israel said it targeted Zibri, the highest-ranking Palestinian leader killed in the Mideast fighting, for organizing multiple car bombings.

Later, the PFLP also claimed responsibility for a nighttime suicide bomb attack in Israel, next to the Gaza fence, in which two soldiers were injured. It would be the first suicide bombing by a secular Palestinian organization.

President Bush condemned the assassination ''in the strongest terms'' and called it a ''despicable act,'' White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. ''It is time for the Palestinian Authority to take vigorous action against terrorists,'' he said. ''Words are not enough.''

The State Department reminded the perpetrators of terror that the United States stands ready to use all weapons, including military ones.

''We will continue to wage our campaign against terrorism globally,'' said deputy spokesman, Philip Reeker.

''We're focused on this, using all the tools at our disposal, be they financial and economic, information and intelligence sharing, police and law enforcement action, as well as military action when that's appropriate,'' Reeker said.

It was not known if Zeevi was slain by one attacker or by a group, and no arrest was made at the scene.

The PFLP released a video showing three masked gunmen standing next to a large poster of Zibri. Reading a statement, one of the gunmen said that ''Rehavam Zeevi will only be the first,'' and suggested two more killings would follow.

The PFLP is part of the Palestine Liberation Organization, led by Arafat, but the PFLP has rejected interim peace deals with Israel. Other radical Palestinian groups, like Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, are not in the PLO.

In a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, PFLP supporters cheered, danced and distributed sweets to celebrate the killing.

Palestinian security officials arrested Ali Jaradat, the PFLP spokesman, after a TV interview, witnesses said. PFLP officials said at least seven other activists also were detained.

''We stand against all political assassinations, despite the fact that Mr. Zeevi espoused hostile policies toward the Palestinian people, including advocating the forced transfer of millions of Palestinians,'' said Yasser Abed Rabbo, the Palestinian information minister.

The Palestinian Authority said it had warned that Israel's policy of targeted killings, directed at Palestinian militants suspected of attacks on Israelis, could lead to escalation. In the past year of fighting, Israel has killed more than 50 Palestinians, including several bystanders, in such attacks.

Speaking during a special session of parliament, Sharon said the ''full responsibility falls squarely on Arafat'' for the assassination.

Perlman charged that Arafat is ''making fools of the Western nations'' by promising to stop terrorism, but doing nothing. In London on Monday, Arafat denounced terrorism and called on Israel to resume peace talks.

Zeevi was shot in the head and neck as he returned to his eighth- floor room in the Hyatt Hotel after breakfast. His wife found him moments later, bleeding and unconscious on the floor. Israel TV said Zeevi was killed with a silencer-equipped weapon.

The hotel is at the edge of Mount Scopus, a pocket of Israeli territory inside traditionally Arab east Jerusalem. Zeevi always stayed at the hotel while parliament was in session to underline Israel's claim to all of the disputed city. The Palestinians claim the Arab section of Jerusalem as their capital.

Zeevi had been the target of many verbal threats, and as a Cabinet minister was entitled to a bodyguard. However, he rejected protection as a matter of principle, fellow ministers said.

In Israel, Zeevi, a veteran of Israel's wars in 1948, 1956 and 1967, was respected by some for his distinguished military record. But his political views were condemned by others as racist.

He sparked controversy in July by comparing Palestinians working and living illegally in Israel to ''lice'' and a ''cancer.''

Zeevi was first elected to parliament in 1988 as head of a fringe party called Moledet (Homeland), which advocated a formula called ''transfer,'' or removal of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/290/world/Slain_Cabinet_minister_was_o ne:.shtml

Slain Cabinet minister was one of the most controversial figures in Israeli politics

By Jack Katzenell, Associated Press, 10/17/2001 10:43

JERUSALEM (AP) Rehavam Zeevi, the Israeli Cabinet minister killed Wednesday in an attack claimed by Palestinian militants, was respected for his war record but marginalized in his political career for advocating the ouster of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The retired general, who was 75, opposed Israel's land-for-peace agreements with Egypt and the Palestinians and twice resigned from right-wing Israeli governments he considered too conciliatory to the Palestinians.

Although Zeevi's views were radically hawkish, he never made personal attacks on his political rivals and was friends with several members of Israel's peace camp.

''I had enormous respect for him even though we didn't agree on politics,'' said Science Minister Matan Vilnai, also a retired general, who served under Zeevi in the paratroops. ''His personal loyalty knew no bounds.''

On Wednesday, members of Israel's parliament held a special session to remember Zeevi. Legislators stood for a moment of silence, and a black ribbon was draped across his empty chair in the plenum.

''He was first of all a friend, a comrade and I shared his belief in the indisputable right of the Jewish people to their historical homeland,'' Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said.

Born in Jerusalem, Zeevi served in the Palmach, the elite force of the pre-state Jewish underground in British Mandatory Palestine.

He fought in the 1948, 1956 and 1967 wars. In the years after the 1967 war, he was promoted to major general and led the hunt for PLO guerrillas infiltrating into the West Bank from Jordan. From 1974- 1977, he was adviser to then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the war against terrorism.

In 1988, he was elected to parliament as leader of the far-right Moledet (homeland) party, which advocated removal of the Palestinians. He was a fervent supporter of Jewish settlement in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, a policy condemned by most countries, including the United States, and by the Palestinians, who see settlement building as theft of their land.

''His positions were extreme and I was always against them,'' said Israeli lawmaker Tamar Gozankski of the left-wing Hadash party. ''They were racist.''

Zeevi was widely known by the incongruous nickname ''Gandhi,'' acquired because his youthful thinness reminded people of the pacifist Indian independence leader Mohandas K. Gandhi.

Zeevi was shot dead outside his eighth-floor room in a Jerusalem hotel. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a PLO faction, said it had killed him in revenge for the slaying of its leader by Israel two months earlier.

Zeevi is survived by a wife, Yael, and five children.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001