Peres: Mercaz Harav planners must be 'brought to justice'

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
The terrorist who killed eight students and wounded nine in the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva library in the capital on Thursday was one man, but he didn't work alone, President Shimon Peres said in Jerusalem on Friday. Israel would not rest until the people responsible were brought to justice, said Peres, who expressed outraged that someone would enter a religious seminary, "a place of holiness and prayer," and spray bullets indiscriminately. The whole nation was as one with the families of the dead and the families whose loved ones have been hospitalized, Peres said. Referring to both fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, Peres said it was a pity that more was known about these young people in death than was known about them in life. He spoke after paying a condolence call to the family of St.-Sgt. Eran Dan-Gur, a Givati Brigade infantryman who was killed in Gaza on March 1. Mary Dan-Gur, the fallen soldier's mother, told Peres that her son had been an outstanding and popular student and had recently completed an officers' course with excellent results. He wanted to serve the nation, she said. Peres has received condolence messages condemning the terrorist attack from heads of state and other prominent figures from around the world. One of the first messages he received was from Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom, who paid a state visit to Israel last week, and said he was sorry that his visit coincided with the disruption of the peace process.