Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin Assassinated by Jewish Extremist
Israeli leader who signed Oslo Accords shot dead at Tel Aviv peace rally by right-wing Jewish law student opposed to peace process.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated tonight by a right-wing Jewish extremist at the end of a massive peace rally in Tel Aviv. The 73-year-old leader, who had signed the historic Oslo Accords with the Palestinians, was shot three times at close range as he walked to his car.
The assassin, identified as 25-year-old Yigal Amir, a law student at Bar-Ilan University, was immediately apprehended. He told investigators he acted to stop the peace process, which he claimed was endangering Jewish lives by ceding land to Palestinians.
Rabin was rushed to nearby Ichilov Hospital but was pronounced dead at 11:10 PM. His final words to aide Eitan Haber were reportedly, “It’s not so bad, it’s not so bad.”
The assassination has sent shockwaves through Israeli society. Over 100,000 people had attended the “Yes to Peace, No to Violence” rally, where Rabin had sung the “Song of Peace” moments before his death. The blood-stained lyrics were found in his jacket pocket.
Acting Prime Minister Shimon Peres vowed to continue the peace process, declaring, “The Palestinians have lost a partner for peace.” Yasser Arafat, visibly shaken, called Rabin a “brave man” and worried about the future of peace efforts.
The murder by a Jewish Israeli has shattered the myth that political violence comes only from Palestinians. It represents the culmination of months of incitement against Rabin, who had been branded a “traitor” by opponents of territorial compromise. His death leaves the peace process in unprecedented uncertainty.