5 Israelis Injured in Attack on Bus

Assailants opened fire on a bus traveling through the West Bank on Saturday, injuring five Israelis. Police suspected Palestinians in the attack, which came two days before a major peace summit.

Israeli, Palestinian and U.S. leaders were scheduled to meet Monday in Oslo to open talks on a final peace agreement.

After the attack, the Likud opposition party accused Prime Minister Ehud Barak of conceding too much in the peace process without insisting that the Palestinian Authority stamp out militant groups, Israel army radio reported.

The bus was en route from the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba near Hebron to central Israel carrying a group of Tel Aviv adults and youths who had spent an “identification Sabbath” to show support for settlers, a settlement group spokesman said.

Witnesses said the shots were fired from a vehicle about a half mile from the Tarkumiya checkpoint, the West Bank terminus of the “safe passage” opened on Monday. The vehicle then drove away under cover of darkness, they said.

“About 20 minutes after we left, we heard about five shots,” said Michael Strauss, a passenger on the bus. Most of the bullets hit the lower part of the bus, and most of the injuries were to victims’ legs, Strauss said. The bus continued until it reached a nearby army base, where authorities and rescue services were alerted, he said.

The wounded were taken to a hospital in Jerusalem, police spokesman Rafi Yaffe said.

The attack occurred near a long-awaited land link for Palestinian travel between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Under peace deals dating back more than five years, the safe-passage route enables Palestinians to pass for the first time between the self-ruled West Bank and the Gaza Strip, lands they hope to unite in a future state.

After the attack, dozens of settlers from Kiryat Arba and Hebron gathered at the Tarkumiya checkpoint, blocking Palestinian cars, protesting the shooting and calling on Israel to cancel plans to open a long-sealed Palestinian street in Hebron today.

For years Israeli hard-liners have denounced the safe-passage concept as a measure leaving Israelis vulnerable to attacks.

Israeli troops began extensive searches for the attackers in the area but made no arrests.

Barak and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat are scheduled to officially open the final talks in Oslo. President Clinton is to direct the ceremonies.

Barak took office in July and immediately renewed the peace process, which was largely frozen under his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Barak has demanded that the Palestinians oppose anti-Israeli groups but has taken a more moderate stance toward the Palestinians than Netanyahu.