Jewish Underground Suspected in Shooting Near Jaffa Gate

While the identity of the gunman who killed one Arab and wounded two others near Jaffa Gate Monday night remains a mystery, police are now facing a new danger: A Jewish underground that is no longer a theoretical threat but rather a reality which endangers the delicate balance between Jews and Arabs in the capital.

Police continued their intensive investigation into the case, after local newsmen received anonymous calls from people who identified themselves as members of the Sicarii group and who took responsibility for the attack.

The group is named after Jewish terrorists in the late Second Temple period, so-called from the dagger– “sica” in Latin — they carried to murder collaborators with the Romans.

Khaled Shawish of Jerusalem died and three others were wounded, one very gravely, when an unknown gunman opened fire with an Uzi submachine gun just before 8 p.m. Monday evening.

The callers said the assault was a reprisal for the stone-throwing attack on Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall last Friday.

Moreover, one Jewish family, apparently suspected of having had ties with Arabs, received threats from callers who identified themselves with both the Sicarii group and Rabbi Meir Kahane’s Kach movement.

Rifle bullets were left at the entrance to the apartment of the family along with derogatory slogans.

At a Knesset debate Tuesday, Police Minister Haim Bar-Lev said it was too early to tell whether this was indeed a new terrorist group, or whether Monday’s attack should be attributed to a single operator. He said all options remained open.

Police commanders sighed with relief Tuesday as the funeral of the Arab who was murdered Monday passed with only minor disturbances. Hundreds of masked Arab youth marched through the Old City toward the al-Aksa mosque, waving outlawed Palestinian flags.

At the end of the funeral, some youths began rioting. One youth was wounded when a policeman fired a rubber bullet at him.

Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek called on the Israeli media not to exacerbate Arab-Israeli tensions, saying the press ought to report the facts and refrain from offering theories and interpretations likely to stir up national hatreds.

Israel’s largest-circulation paper, Yediot Aharonot, reported in its headline Tuesday that the assailant, who fled on foot, had been seen wearing an IDF uniform and a yarmulke.

Yediot and other media reported they had received phone calls during the evening from persons purporting to speak for the Sicarii and claiming responsibility for the shooting.

In recent weeks, the Sicarii have taken responsibility for clumsy arson efforts outside the front doors of the apartments of pollster Mina Zemach, playwright Dan Almagor, Mapam Knesset member Yair Tsaban and journalist Dan Margalit.

The wounded were young men who had been sitting together outside the gate when the hail of bullets caught them unawares.

Jerusalem Police Chief Yosef Yehudai said three of the four youth were known to the police as being involved in drugs, but he said that it might not have had any bearing on the shooting.