The Palestinian Arabs of the Gaza Strip came out en masse Tuesday night to celebrate the brutal slaying of four Jewish civilians in Judea (the so-called "West Bank") earlier in the evening.

Photos taken by Reuters and the Associated Press show Palestinian men, women and children waving Hamas flags, flashing "victory" signs and passing out candies to commemorate the murder of Yitzhak and Talia Ames, Kochava Even-Chaim and Avishai Schindler. Seven Israeli children were made orphans by the attack.

In one of the photos, a Palestinian man has given his young boy a toy gun to carry to the celebratory rally, apparently hoping he will also grow up to be a killer.

The photos of the Gaza rally can be seen at the website of investigative journalist Tom Gross:
http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/001132.html

* Scroll down to the second news item to see the photos.

An Israeli couple driving from Jerusalem to their home in the Jordan Valley region on Wednesday evening were the victims of the second Palestinian roadside terrorist shooting attack in as many days.

Moshe Moreno, a teacher at a pre-military school in the Jewish town of Ma'aleh Ephraim, said he and his wife were driving on an empty road when suddenly another car started following them very closely.

The second car turned on its bright lights and tailed Moreno. He tried to make signs that the other driver should pass, but the second car continued to tail and harass Moreno for some miles.

Finally, the second car began to pass Moreno, but as it pulled alongside his vehicle, the occupants of the other car opened fire.

Police later said that nine bullet holes were found in Moreno's driver-side door. However, only one hit Moreno in the leg, causing a moderate injury from which he is now fully recovering.

After the initial burst of fire, Moreno pulled his car over and began to frantically unbuckle himself and his wife. But the terrorists also pulled over, and one approached Moreno's car to finish the job. But, miraculously, the terrorist's gun jammed, giving Moshe and his wife enough time to jump out the other side of the car and dive down a small hill next to the road.

From their hiding place, the couple called the army and were rescued. The terrorists managed to flee the scene back into Palestinian Authority-controlled areas.

In our August issue Israel Today covered the 20th anniversary of Makor HaTikvah, the only Messianic day school in Jerusalem.

That the school has lasted so long after starting with so little is miraculous. Makor HaTikvah's sudden and tremendous growth over the past few years has been a testament to the importance of its mission - to provide a strong, faith-based education for the children of local believers in Yeshua (Jesus).

And that growth has continued through the summer. Makor HaTikvah has added more than a dozen new students to its already over-crowded facility for the coming school year. School principal Cookie Schwaeber-Issan told Israel Today that she had to turn away a number of potential students because there was physically no space for them in the classes.

Fortunately, donations have allowed the school to do a bit of renovating and purchase new books and computers (pictured below) so as to provide those students who could be taken in an enhanced learning experience.

For more information about Makor HaTikvah, visit the school's website at: www.makorhatikvah.org

Pictures of the summer renovations and additions:

New books make a fully-stocked library


The board reads: "Shalom First Grade!"


A new large-screen TV for presentations


6th grade classroom fixed, painted and ready to go


A donation of computers has given Makor HaTikvah its first computer lab


Makor HaTikvah's facilities on the Anglican School compound. The school desperately needs larger facilities to continue growing

Palestinian Arab gunmen attacked a Jewish vehicle near the Hebron suburb of Kiryat Arba on Tuesday night, killing a husband and wife and two additional people who were hitching a ride with them.

Yitzhak and Talia Ames, both age 40, leave behind six children. The other woman, Kochava Even-Chaim, leaves behind a daughter and was also pregnant with her second child at the time of the attack. Avishai Schindler was the fourth victim.

Rescue crews and security officials who responded to the scene said the terrorists managed to hit at least two of the car's occupants in their initial burst of fire, and then moved in closer to execute their victims at close range. The bodies of all four victims were found strewn across the road with numerous bullet wounds inflicted from point-blank range.

In a horribly tragic scene, one of the responding rescue crew volunteers realized that his wife, Kochava Even-Chaim, was among the victims.

"We saw him crying at the scene and didn't understand what was hapenning at first. It wasn't the first disaster he saw," ZAKA rescue service official Isaac Berenstein told The Jerusalem Post. "Then he shouted, 'That's my wife! That's my wife!'"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack is further evidence of why Israel must stick firmly to its security demands. Many other Israelis said it is further evidence that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas either has no control over his people or doesn't care to stop them from killing Jews, and that in either case, he is not a viable peace partner.

"Even when Israel reaches out to them, the Palestinians make every effort to cut its hand off brutally," Likud lawmaker Ofir Akunis told Yediot Ahronot. "The whole world can see tonight that Israel desires peace while the Palestinians want violence and terror."

Settler officials urged Netanyahu to immediately return home, noting that previous concessions in the form of removing checkpoints had enabled Tuesday's attack, and that the Washington talks would inevitably result in more concessions that put Israeli lives in danger.

"This is a massacre that is not meant to foil talks, but is a direct result of negotiations and talks of concessions," Yesha Council Director-General Naftali Bennett told Yediot.

Right-wing lawmaker Uri Ariel (National Union) added in remarks to Israel National News, "It is clear by now – the most violent period is when there is a diplomatic process. Netanyahu must freeze the talks immediately and concentrate on safeguarding the security of the citizens of Israel."

Abbas' office issued a condemnation of the attack, but attempted to draw moral equivalence between it and Israeli actions by referring to the massacre as an "operation" and saying that Abbas objects to "any acts targeting civilians, Palestinians or Israelis."

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, whom the international community sees as even more moderate than Abbas, failed to go even that far, and instead condemned the attack only because it "is contrary to Palestinians interests."

Diplomatic sources revealed to Israel's Yediot Ahronot that when direct Israeli-Palestinians peace talks resume in Washington on Thursday, US President Barack Obama intends to strongly press both sides to sign a peace deal, even if it can't be fully implemented.

According to the leaked transcript of a conference call between Obama Administration officials and US Jewish leaders, Obama will pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to sign a framework deal now that will lead to the signing of a final status peace deal within one year. However, the implementation of that final status deal is expected to take at least 10 years.

During the first year, Obama wants to see Netanyahu, Abbas and their respective teams holding meetings at a hectic pace in order to iron out differences in the run up to signing the peace deal. When the two sides hit roadblocks, US officials will intervene.

The signing of such an agreement will give Obama the diplomatic achievement he needs to bolster his increasingly unpopular presidency. But that will do little to change the situation on the ground in Israel, as evidenced by the fact that even Obama acknowledges it can't be implemented in the short term.

In fact, it is likely to exacerbate the conflict by further restraining the Israelis from combatting violence against their own, a development that has traditionally encouraged the Palestinians to escalate their campaign of terror.

In other words, as some observers put it, Israelis are likely to pay with their lives so that Obama and his party can remain in power.