Alastal was injured when Israeli war plane F-16 fired on Palestinian police headquarters in the West Bank town of Nablus, late Friday. Alastal died Tuesday. The copper machine gun bullet fired from the West Bank whistled through the air, skirted past a popular Jerusalem mall, and landed in the living room of a stunned family nearby. Gilo has become a frequent target, but this was the first time the gunfire had reached the Malcha neighborhood and the mall. Even now, as Palestinian militants threaten more attacks on Israelis, thousands throng its blue neon-lit walkways.
Every night brings a crush of shoppers.
The world of neatly folded yellow and green polo shirts and displays of Italian pasta pots suddenly did not seem so safe. The heavy security here at the mall assuages our fears but you never know. Security is tight at the mall. There are long waits to get into its cavernous parking lot. Guards check the trunks of every car and take down plate numbers.