NEW YORK - Another American citizen has been murdered by Palestinian Arabs --the 21st such victim since the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993-- and the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is urging the Bush administration to publicly demand that Yasir Arafat hand over all Palestinian Arab killers of Americans for prosecution in the United States.
A Palestinian Arab terrorist shot dead two Israeli children, and wounded 52 other bus passengers, in the Jerusalem neighborhood of French Hill on November 4, 2001. One of the two children murdered was 16 year-old Shoshana Ben-Yishai, from Queens, NY.
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said: "The terrorist who shot at the bus was killed, but those who planned and sponsored the attack are still living freely in Arafat-controlled territory. It's time to halt all U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority territories and demand that Arafat surrender all those involved in murders of Americans for prosecution in the United States, just as the U.S. is demanding that the Taliban surrender Osama Bin Laden for prosecution in the United States."
Nine Americans have been murdered, and 17 wounded, since the current Palestinian Arab violence against Israel began in September 2000. A total of 21 Americans have been murdered, and 45 wounded, by Palestinian Arab terrorists since the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. Israel has identified 23 suspects in the killings, by name; they are being sheltered by Arafat's Palestinian Authority, and Arafat has refused to surrender them to Israel or the United States for prosecution.
Members of forces under Arafat's direct command have been involved in some of the murders of Americans. Mahmoud Daglas, 30, a member of Arafat's Force 17, who was captured by Israel in September 2001, was discovered to have assisted in the August 9 bombing of the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem, which killed 15 people, two of them Americans, Mrs. Shoshana Greenbaum and 15 year-old Malka Roth. Four other Americans were wounded in the attack, including Mrs. Chaya Nachenberg of Bronx, NY, who remains in a coma. Jamil Jadallah, a member of Arafat's PA security forces, who was also involved in the Sbarro bombing, lived under PA protection in Hebron until he was killed on October 31, 2001, while making preparations for another terrorist attacks.
Three terrorists from the Tanzim units of Fatah --which Arafat chairs-- who were captured in March 2001 confessed to a series of terrorist attacks that killed eight people, three of whom were American citizens-- Esh-Kodesh Gilmore, whose family was from Ohio and New Jersey; and Binyamin and Talia Kahane, formerly of New York. Five of the Kahanes' children, also U.S. citizens, were wounded in that attack. (Jerusalem Post, March 16, 2001)