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13 israelis killed bus stop cafe blasts Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2003/09/10/13_israelis_killed_in_bus_stop_cafe_blasts/http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2003/09/10/13_israelis_killed_in_bus_stop_cafe_blasts/
13 Israelis killed in bus stop, cafe blasts
By Charles A. Radin, Globe Staff, 9/10/2003
JERUSALEM -- A Palestinian suicide bomber killed six patrons of a sidewalk cafe in the heart of Jerusalem last night, six hours after another one struck a suburban Tel Aviv bus stop, killing seven people. Dozens were wounded in the two attacks.
Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron earlier in the day, and a fourth man was killed as he allegedly attempted to place a bomb on a road in Gaza.
With the surge in violence, the Middle East conflict lurched sharply back into open warfare.
None of the Palestinian groups routinely behind suicide attacks in Israel claimed responsibility for the pair of terror blasts, a seeming shift in policy after months in which the groups competed to claim the attacks. But the military wing of the Islamic extremist group Hamas said in a statement that it welcomed the two attacks as "a response to the crimes of the Zionist enemy. We have quit words for deeds of retaliation and vengeance."
Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a founder of Hamas who narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by Israel in June and again last weekend, told the television station of the Hezbollah organization in Lebanon that "the Zionists should know that [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon will not provide them with any security, but only death and more bloodshed. The Zionist enemy should leave our country as soon as possible or face continuous war."
David Baker -- a spokesman for the prime minister, who is traveling in India -- said the attacks were "further indication that the Palestinian Authority is doing absolutely nothing whatsoever to rein in terrorists or to dismantle the terror infrastructure in their areas."
The first suicide bomber struck around 6 p.m.,rush hour, at a bus stop serving a major army base near the city of Rishon LeTzion. The attack was carried out despite heightened security alerts and widespread expectations in Israel that Hamas would strike in retaliation for the failed Israeli attempt to kill Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and other leaders of the group Saturday. Since the suicide bombing on Aug. 19 that killed 21 people, Israeli forces have carried out a series of strikes targeting senior leaders of Hamas, which the US State Department lists as a terrorist organization. The strikes have killed at least 13 Hamas members and five bystanders.
Yana, a 19-year-old communications corps soldier injured in the bus stop attack, said she had seen "a man dressed a little strange." "He had sort of a suit on . . . and long, curly hair. We locked eyes for an instant, and it was not pleasant," she said. "I asked myself what is that guy doing here? I turned around, and there was an explosion."
Yana, who was about 30 feet from the bomber, initially was unaware that she had shrapnel wounds in her arm and leg. "There were many wounded," said Yana, who was interviewed from her hospital bed and whose name was withheld in accordance with army regulations. "I bandaged with my personal dressing a girl who suffered an injury to the chest. I have no idea where she is now.
"One of my commanders from a course I took in the army was down, but I tried not to look in that direction. I am not qualified to treat gravely injured people."
Police Superintendent Gil Kleiman said that guards were posted at the bus stop, but the bombing "happened very quickly."
Kleiman said preliminary reports were that all seven of those killed by the powerful bomb -- which was carried in a handbag and reinforced with metal bolts -- were soldiers and that the injured, 15 of whom were wounded seriously, were a mix of civilians and soldiers. In addition to the Tzrifin military base, the bus stop where the bombing occurred also served Assaf HaRofeh Hospital.
Steven Bar-Ner, spokesman for the Red Star of David ambulance service, said the evacuation and treatment went faster than usual because of the proximity of the hospital and the general anticipation of an attack.
"I was expecting this," he said. "We were already at high alert, so we were deployed in all areas. I fear to say that this is just the beginning."
Later that night, a suicide bomber plunged into Cafe Hillel, a coffee shop on Emek Rafa'im, the main street of the German Colony, an upscale Jerusalem neighborhood that is home to many popular restaurants.
"I saw the terrorist. He had a big bag on his back," said Izhak Mor, one of the two guards at the cafe. "I tried to stop him."
Dikla Gal-Ed, 27, a resident of Gush Katif in Gaza, said that despite the warnings given to entering customers that terror alerts had been issued, "there were many people inside and outside the cafe. Then there was the explosion. The lights went out and all the glass went flying."
"My friend had a hole in his shoulder, and he was bleeding a lot," she said. "Then I felt the pain in my back."
Jerusalem's mayor, Uri Lupolianski, told Israeli television that the attack occurred despite "serious preparations by the security forces, police, and border patrol."
"The separation fence around Jerusalem has to be built starting now. Tonight!" he said. "When someone manages to get into Jerusalem, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack."
Earlier in the day in Hebron, two Hamas members were killed when Israeli forces surrounded a building in which they were hiding. The Israelis closed in and called on the men to surrender. When they refused and fired at the Israelis, the soldiers evacuated noncombatants living in the mostly empty, seven-story building.
Commandos entered the building after an hours-long standoff, killing the leader of Hamas in Hebron and another militant.
A 12-year-old boy in a neighboring building died during the fighting. Palestinians said he was struck by shrapnel from a shell fired at the building where the militants were holed up. A senior Israeli commander, who said his forces investigated these claims, said that the boy died from a head wound that was not caused by a shell.
Ahmed Qurei, the Palestinian prime minister-designate, expressed "regrets and pain for the innocent lives [lost] as a result of violence and counterviolence" and said such acts show "the necessity that both the Palestinian and Israeli leadership . . . search for ways to end this killing."
Globe correspondent Gal Wenger contributed to this report. Charles A. Radin can be reached at radin@globe.com.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
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