TERROR IN DISGUISE

By URI DAN --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PASSENGERS HAD NO CHANCE: Security forces descend on the scene of the latest attack on Israeli citizens yesterday. At least seven were killed. - Getty Images

July 17, 2002 -- JERUSALEM - At least three Palestinian terrorists wearing Israeli army fatigues staged an elaborate and deadly ambush yesterday, killing seven Israelis on a bus outside an ultra-Orthodox West Bank settlement. Among those killed in the first deadly attack on Israeli civilians in nearly a month were an 8- month-old baby and her father - who was running to save her - while another 14 were badly wounded, said Ron Nachman, mayor of nearby Ariel.

Yesterday's horrific attack at the Emmanuel settlement was so sly that three terror organizations instantly clamored to take credit for it.

It was a near replica of the attack on Dec. 12 that killed 11 people in the same place - at the entrance to Emmanuel, between the Palestinian-controlled towns of Qalqilya and Nablus.

Sources said the terrorists, dressed in Israeli army fatigues, planted 65 pounds of TNT on the road and detonated it as a bus filled mostly with women and children passed by.

Although the bus was made of steel armor - a precaution taken since the December attack - the bombing forced the bus to skid to a halt.

The gunmen, positioned on top of a nearby cave, then threw grenades on the bus roof - which was not reinforced - and sprayed it with bullets before escaping.

Authorities say a family by the name of Shilon was particularly devastated by the ambush.

Mr. Shilon - whose first name could not be learned last night - was walking in the settlement when news of the attack came over the central public-address system.

"He went running toward the bus," a source said. "He saw the gunmen, but he was desperate to save his family, and they shot him dead."

His baby daughter, Sarah, and his mother-in-law were both killed by gunfire. His wife and 2-year-old son were shot, but they are expected to survive. Sarah's twin sister was unharmed.

Three terror groups claimed responsibility: Hamas, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which is affiliated with Yasser Arafat.

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-- Martin (Martin@aol.com), July 19, 2002