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Mob related bombing kills 3 Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/Intl/AP.V2851.AP-Israel-Explosio.htmlhttp://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/Intl/AP.V2851.AP-Israel-Explosio.html
Mob-Related Bombing Kills 3 in Israel
By LAURIE COPANS
Associated Press Writer
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)--A bomb blast attributed to Israel's criminal underworld killed three people in downtown Tel Aviv on Thursday and rocked residents already edgy because of three years of Palestinian suicide bombings.
The scene was a copy of dozens of Palestinian attacks: a gutted storefront, wires and pipes hanging from its ceiling; swarming police, bloodied bodies lying in the street. Along with the three dead, at least 17 were wounded, including the apparent target.
``It was so big, I don't believe that it was a criminal act,'' said Avraham Rahamim, 61, sitting at a battered taxi stand across the five-lane street from the scene of the blast, aimed at a money changer's shop.
Since violence erupted in 2000, more than 400 Israelis have been killed in 105 Palestinian suicide bomb attacks. Several of the bloodiest have hit Tel Aviv.
However, it quickly emerged that this was not a terror attack. Israel Radio interviewed a woman slightly wounded in the bombing who said that before the blast, another Israeli urged her to get away. She said she asked why and was told, ``You don't want to know.''
The target was Zeev Rosenstein, a well-known underworld figure, the seventh time in as many years that rivals have tried to kill him, according to Channel Two TV. Rosenstein was spotted leaving the scene and appeared at an area hospital some time later for treatment of minor injuries.
Reacting to the bombing, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the next meeting of the Israeli Cabinet, on Sunday, would be devoted to organized crime in Israel, reflecting the seriousness of the problem.
Channel Two TV reported that the underworld rivalry stretches far beyond Israel, encompassing illegal gambling interests in East Europe.
Rosenstein was recently questioned by police after a hit man reportedly claimed Rosenstein had ordered hits on some of his rivals. Police later said the accuser was lying and released Rosenstein.
Israeli authorities expressed concern about the escalation in tactics. The Israeli gangsters ``are definitely learning from the Palestinians,'' said Tel Aviv District Commander Yossi Sedbon, turning from shootings to bombings.
In the past, criminals have planted bombs under each other's cars in attempted murders, but this was the first time a bomb was set off on a busy street, targeting a shop where an underworld leader was present, an attack sure to cause many casualties among innocent bystanders.
Hundreds of people watching police sift through the rubble appeared to breathe a collective sigh of relief when police revealed that the bombing was not politically motivated. ``It's criminal,'' yelled one elderly woman from a balcony not far from the blown-out storefronts.
Near the money change store, two young women joked, while a group of men complained that police had blocked a nearby main street. To Tel Aviv residents hardened by scenes of gore and tragedy, the attack seemed minor.
``It's true that, when they say `criminal,' I calm down because I wasn't targeted,'' said Hadas Ilos-Goren, 33, as she watched tow trucks pull damaged cars away from the area.
But at the same time, Ilos-Goren and others said that the motivation of the attack frightened them almost as much as terror, since innocent people were killed.
``This adds more to our worries, as if terror wasn't enough,'' said Ilos-Goren, a clerk at a law office down the street. ``I could have been here at the time and been hit, no matter whether it was terror or criminal.''
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AP-NY-12-11-03 1517EST
Copyright 2003, The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP Online news report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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