Suicide bomber shatters ceasefire in Israel

Tel Aviv - Three women were killed and dozens of people wounded yesterday when an 18-year-old suicide bomber blew himself up by a busy junction near a shopping mall in the Israeli seaside town of Netanya, north of Tel Aviv.

The seriously wounded, including a six-year-old girl who was badly burnt, were taken by helicopter to specialist hospitals around Israel, according to Israel TV.

It was the first bombing in Israel since February and it comes as the prime minister, Ariel Sharon, prepares to begin withdrawing Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank colonies.

Both Mr Sharon and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, will face pressure as a result of the bombing. Critics of the withdrawal plan are likely to press for Mr Sharon to delay its start, due in a month, saying it must not be seen as a response to or reward for terrorism.

Mr Abbas will be urged by the Israelis to show that he is cracking down on militants.

The bomber was identified as Ahmed Abu Kahalil, who police said was a member of Islamic Jihad from the West Bank village of Atil. According to Reuters, the bomber made a video in which he said: "We reiterate our commitment to calm, but we have to retaliate for Israeli violations."

Islamic Jihad is formally supporting the current ceasefire, but militants have carried out numerous attacks on mostly military targets in the past few months. In February an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber killed five people at a Tel Aviv nightclub. Then Israel declined to retaliate, saying that it would not allow a few extremists to dictate its policy.

Last night Mr Sharon was meeting ministers to consider a response.

The Palestinian Authority swiftly condemned the attack. Mr Abbas said: "It's a crime against the Palestinian people. Those traitors are working against the Palestinian interest ... They did a stupid thing that they should be punished for."

Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian minister for negotiations, said: "We understand that those who carried out this attack want to sabotage the efforts being exerted to have a smooth and peaceful disengagement from Gaza and a revival of the peace process."

Jibril Rajoub, Mr Abbas's security adviser, said: "All factions must abide by the truce. These acts only cause harm to Palestinian unity and serve the right wing in Israel."

Palestinian security officials said the bomber had come from the same local Islamic Jihad cell that was responsible for the February bombing, but that the group's leadership was not involved.

The bomb was apparently set off at a junction next to the main entrance of a mall. Several cars were damaged and emergency workers were picking up body parts more than an hour afterwards.

Twenty metres from the scene of the explosion, several white paper-clad forensic officers were examining the upper torso of the bomber. His face seemed undamaged but there was little left of his lower body. A trail of blood marked where the body had been dragged.

Menashe Arviv, the local police chief, said an initial investigation revealed that the explosive belt detonated by the terrorist weighed about 10kg (22lb). The belt also contained nails and small iron balls.

Arik Twik, who was standing close to the scene, said he had seen the bomber and noticed that a security guard had also noticed him.

"The terrorist apparently realised he'd been identified, stood in the middle of the crosswalk right next to four young girls, French tourists apparently, and then blew up," he told the Israeli website Ynet. "It was a big mess."

David Baker, an official in the prime minister's office, said: "Israel has done all it could to ease up Palestinian needs but the PA has not fulfilled obligations undertaken at Sharm el-Sheikh and shows no signs of doing so."

The truce agreed by Palestinian groups earlier this year has significantly lowered the level of violence in Israel, although several Israelis have been killed. Around 40 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces.

The attack comes after thousands of Jewish athletes arrived from all over the world for the Jewish Olympics, the Maccabiah games. Many of the events are taking place in Netanya, and the mayor witnessed the attack on the way to an event.

Minutes before the Netanya blast, an Islamic Jihad militant attempted to drive a car bomb into a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, police said. The bomber was captured after the explosives detonated prematurely.

Police said the two attacks were linked.

Netanya is at Israel's narrowest point, nine miles from the West Bank but separated from it by the barrier being built by Israel. -- Guardian News

Click Here To Have Your Say On This Story

Brudirect.com News