Israeli CP leader's car bombed

Hans Lebrecht reports from Israel that on October 24, an 
incendiary bomb exploded underneath the car in which communist 
Knesset Member and General Secretary of the CP Israel, Issam 
Mahoul usually drives. When his wife, Su'ad started the engine of 
the Honda car which was parked in front of their Haifa home it 
went up in flames. Fortunately Su'ad succeeded in getting out of 
the burning car unhurt.

Issam Mahoul told Hans Lebrecht that he was sitting in the second 
family car when he heard the explosion and saw his wife jumping 
out of the car.

He told Hans, as well as other correspondents and the police, 
that he had no personal enemies, but had lately received several 
anonymous threats by phone, usually accompan-ied by racist and 
radical right-wing utterances.

"I see this attack as a threat to democracy in Israel", he added.

The Speaker of the Knesset, Reuven Rivlin, phoned MK Mahoul and 
expressed his shock at the incident. MK Mahoul is one of the 10 
Arab-Palestinian lawmakers in the 120-member Knesset parliament.

Palestinians and international peace activists shot

Two young Palestinian boys and two international peace activists 
were injured when Israeli soldiers drove into the Balata Refugee 
Camp randomly firing their weapons into the streets.

Two Israeli military jeeps and a hummer entered the camp and 
began shooting.

The two Palestinian boys were hit by rubber bullets; one of the 
boys was hospitalised and later released.

Two volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement 
escorted a group of children to safety and then stayed to 
observe.

Mark (last name withheld), a volunteer from Colorado in the 
United States, sustained injury to his right thigh when a live 
bullet grazed his leg.

Australian volunteer Jeremy (last name withheld), was shot 
through the leg, a live bullet passing through his left thigh and 
entering his right.

Mark and Jeremy are currently undergoing treatment at Rafidia 
Hospital in Nablus.

According to Mark, Jeremy, and two other international witnesses, 
they were clearly visible to the hummer before being shot at, 
having appeared in the spotlight of the vehicle three separate 
times.

"There was no Palestinian gunfire; we were all clearly unarmed 
civilians; why were the soldiers shooting?" asked ISM volunteer 
Kelly B.

On the way to Rafidia hospital, the ambulance transporting the 
Internationals was detained by Israeli soldiers.