4 Palestinians Admit to Fatal Attacks, Court Says

Four Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem pleaded guilty Tuesday to direct involvement in a series of bombings in the ancient city, including an attack that killed five Americans at Hebrew University, court officials said.

Prosecutors said the Palestinians belonged to a militant cell that orchestrated attacks that also included a suicide bombing in a Jerusalem cafe in March that killed 11 Israelis.

One of the Palestinians, house painter Mohammed Odeh, admitted to planting the bomb in the Hebrew University cafeteria this summer. Nine people were killed, including the Americans.

The Palestinians were charged with attacks that took a total of 35 lives.

Unlike most Palestinians in the West Bank, Palestinians living in East Jerusalem have Israeli identity cards. This allowed the four to travel freely in Israel and plan the attacks, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors demanded that three of the four be given life sentences.

The court postponed sentencing until December.

Meanwhile, violence continued Tuesday. In the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers came under fire and responded with gunfire, killing two Palestinians and injuring 19, according to the army and Palestinian officials.

The army said the Israeli troops faced machine-gun fire from two armed Palestinians who approached a military checkpoint near Rafah, along the border with Egypt.

The army said it hit two Palestinians and reported antitank fire by Palestinians as it searched for a third.