Hezbollah denied involvement in the Palestinian shooting spree at Jerusalem’s Mercaz Harav yeshiva.
Israeli security officials said the Lebanese militia may have ordered Thursday night’s attack in which eight students were killed, though initial indications were that gunman Ala Abu Dhaim, who was shot dead, acted alone.
Hezbollah vowed revenge last month after its top terror commander died in a Damascus car bombing that many Arabs blamed on Israel, but it distanced itself from the Mercaz Harav attack.
“The Israelis are trying to throw around blame for the attack, but everyone knows that Palestinian factions are capable of attacking Israel,” Israel Radio quoted senior Hezbollah official Mahmoud Kamati as telling Iranian media.
There were various claims of responsibility for Dhaim’s shooting spree, including by a little-known Palestinian faction and an equally obscure Israeli Arab terrorist group that long have been regarded as potential Hezbollah fronts.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
