Tourism Minister Rechavam Ze'evi, 75, was shot and killed by unknown assailants at Jerusalem's Hyatt Hotel this morning. two bullets, apparently fired by a gun with a silencer, hit Ze'evi in the head and neck. Doctors at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital fought for two hours to save Ze'evi's life, but were unsuccessful. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the assassination.

"After prolonged efforts to revive him ... the doctors saw that all hope had totally ended," said Professor Shmuel Shapira, deputy director of the hospital as he announced Ze'evi's death.

According to initial reports, Ze'evi had just finished eating his breakfast in the hotel's dining room with his wife when he returned alone to his room on the eighth floor. His wife reportedly discovered Ze'evi's body in the hotel corridor outside their room, "lying without a pulse." There were no reports of gunshots being heard in the hotel, and media sources suggested that the assailants fired a gun equipped with a silencer. Police said that three shots were fired at the minister from close range and hospital officials confirmed that two bullets him in the head.

Channel Two television reported that at breakfast with his wife, Yael, Ze'evi reported seeing a man staring at him who "wouldn't take his eyes off me," after which the man disappeared. The television reported police speculation that the killer gained access from an emergency exit adjacent to Ze'evi's room.

"We know that he was shot at the entrance to his room at 7:00 a.m. by two assailants," Levy said, refusing to speculate who was responsible for the assassination attempt. There were no reports of eyewitnesses to the shooting and it was unclear how the police determined that there were two people involved in the attack.

David Hocking, an American preacher staying in the hotel, told Israel Radio that he heard "something fall" and "presumed that it was in the room next door." Hocking said, "What drew me to my door to try to do something were the yells and screaming of his wife."

Hocking said he opened his door, and found himself facing Ze'evi's body in the corridor. "It was pretty obvious to me he was already dead, that he had been shot in the face and presumably, they said in the neck, but I didn't observe that," he said.

Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman of the Jerusalem Magistrates Court this morning ordered a publication ban on all details regarding the investigation into the assassination.

Police seal off Hyatt Hotel
Police immediately sealed off the Hyatt Hotel, which regularly hosts Knesset members and government ministers. The hotel is located adjacent to the Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and police fear the assailants may have escaped to Palestinian-controlled territories near Ramallah. Hotel workers, many of them residents of Arab sectors of Jerusalem, were detained at the Hyatt for questioning.

Members of the National Union faction said that there had been general threats on Ze'evi's life, but no specific warnings had been received recently. Jerusalem Police Chief Cmdr. Mickey Levy confirmed that Ze'evi was not protected by bodyguards at the time of the shooting. The Israel Security Agency (ISA) VIP Bodyguard unit ordered cabinet ministers and Knesset members to remain in their homes or in other "secure areas" in the wake of the assassination.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for the shooting attack on Rechavam Ze'evi. In a message relayed to the Jerusalem offices of Agence France-Presse, the PFLP said the shooting was in response to Israel's assassination of the radical PLO faction's secretary general, Abu Ali Mustafa, on August 27.

Ze'evi, leader of the right-wing National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu Knesset bloc, announced earlier this week that he was resigning from the government, along with National Infrastructure Minister Avigdor Lieberman, in protest over policies the faction viewed as too soft on Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority. The resignations were to have taken effect later today. Political sources report that the faction will now suspend its departure from the government.

Health Minister Nissim Dahan (Shas) told Israel Radio this morning that he suggested to Ze'evi a week ago to change his Jerusalem lodgings to another hotel due to the Hyatt's proximity to East Jerusalem but Ze'evi refused. "Nobody can hurt me," Ze'evi reportedly told Dahan.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convened a special session of security officials and government ministers this morning to discuss the assassination and its possible consequences.

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