Israeli gunman kills 3 Palestinians in West Bank
Hamas vows revenge for Jewish settler's killing of Palestinians
Abbas condemns Jewish settler's killing of 3 Palestinians

    JERUSALEM, Aug. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Wednesday slammed the shooting attack against Palestinians by an Israeli Jew in the West Bank, regarding it "very gravely".

    Sharon made the condemnation in a statement released by his office, reported local daily newspaper Ha'aretz."I view this act of Jewish terror, which was aimed at innocent Palestinians with the twisted thinking that it would stop the disengagement plan, very gravely," Sharon said in the statement.

    He denounced that Asher Weisgan, a resident of a West Banksettlement, carried out the attack in a bid to stop the disengagement from going ahead.

    Weisgan, a 38-year-old driver from the settlement of ShvutRahel, 5 km east of Shiloh which is about 20 km northeast of Ramallah, transported Palestinian workers to and from Shiloh industrial area daily.

    On Wednesday afternoon, he picked up the workers to take them home and stopped on the way out to ask a security guard for a cup of water.

    He then stole the guard's weapon, shot the two Palestinian workers in his car at the time, and then ran into the industrial area, killing a third worker on the way and wounding two others. The incident came on the first day of forced evacuation of settlers in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

    For fear of an escalation between Jews and Arabs, Israeli police forces are currently preparing for possible riots that could breakout in Palestinian communities.

    Israeli army has asked West Bank rabbis to condemn the Jewish terrorist act to hold back possible Jewish attacks on Arabs in thefuture.

    Meanwhile, the Palestinian National Authority issued a statement in response, blaming Israel for not doing enough to prevent the attack.

    Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and chief negotiator SaebErekat both condemned the attack while the radical Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) threatened to avenge the attack."This crime is not going to pass without tough punishment," said Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri.

    But he said Hamas also has an interest in seeing the Gaza withdrawal proceed, suggesting Hamas might not act immediately. This is the second attack by an Israeli Jew on Arabs in August. An Israeli army soldier who had deserted from the army to protest the disengagement opened fire inside a bus in the northerntown of Shfaram earlier this month, killing four Israeli Arabs. Neither of the attacks came as a complete surprise to police orthe Shin Bet (National Security Service).

    In recent months, the security establishment has received numerous warnings of possible attacks by extremist Jews against the Palestinians in an attempt to incite disorder in the territories and block the pullout.

    Israel formally began the pullout operation on Monday morning according to the disengagement plan put forward by Sharon at the end of 2003, according to which Israel will remove all 21 Gaza settlements and four of about 120 in the West Bank. Enditem