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Explosion israel kills 7 Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
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Explosion in Central Israel Kills 7
Seven Dead, Dozens Wounded in Blast Near Central Israel Army Base in Apparent Suicide Attack
The Associated Press
RISHON LETZION, Israel Sept. 9 —
A suicide bomber blew himself up at a bus stop crowded with soldiers at rush hour Tuesday. The bomber and at least six other people were killed, a television report said.
At least 30 people also were wounded, 15 of them seriously, rescue service workers said.
The bomber detonated the explosives at a busy bus stop near both the Assaf Harofeh Hospital and the Tsrifin army base near the Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon Letzion. Crowds fled the area screaming.
Israel's Channel 1 TV reported the bomber and six bystanders were killed. Hospital doctors said most of the injured were soldiers.
Security officials said there were many soldiers at the bus stop, where ambulances quickly lined up to take away the wounded.
Three bodies lay in the street, and police said they believed a suicide bomber was among them. The walls of a nearby bus shelter were spattered with blood from the attack, which occurred about 6 p.m., just as the soldiers were returning home.
Israeli officials quickly blamed the Palestinian Authority.
"The attack today is further indication that the Palestinian Authority is doing absolutely nothing whatsoever to rein in terrorists or to dismantle the terror infrastructure in their areas," said David Baker, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who is visiting India.
Palestinian legislator Saeb Ereket condemned the attack, saying the Palestinians urge the United States and the international community to "de-escalate the violence and implement the road map."
But Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner said "the responsibility is shared between the organization that carried out the atrocity and the Palestinian Authority that did nothing to prevent it, and Israel will react accordingly."
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Palestinian militants have frequently carried out terror attacks during Sharon's visits abroad, occasionally causing him to cut trips short. His plans were not immediately clear in the wake of the attack.
Israeli authorities had been on high alert in the wake of Saturday's botched attempt to kill Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas. Security was especially tight in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
The explosion comes as Israeli Cabinet and security officials have been calling for the expulsion of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat whom Israel holds responsible for the attacks and there has been speculation that a suicide bombing that causes many fatalities might trigger such a move. The United States has blocked the idea in the past.
Earlier Tuesday, Israeli troops killed two Hamas militants and a 12-year-old boy in a raid in the West Bank city of Hebron, witnesses and Israeli security officials said. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said one of the men was the head of Hamas in Hebron, Ahmed Bader, and the other was Izzedine Mesk, who they believed was related to a suicide bomber who killed 22 people on a Jerusalem bus last month.
The troops also blew up a seven-story apartment building where the militants had been hiding out.
The violence comes as Israeli officials said they would judge Ahmed Qureia, the candidate for Palestinian prime minister, by the extent to which he is prepared to comply with the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan.
"We will judge any Palestinian prime minister by his actions," Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said in a statement. "He will have to decide whether he stands with Arafat or whether he stands against terrorism. His first step must be to make the strategic decision to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism."
After Saturday's resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, Israel initially said it would not deal with a successor hand-picked by Arafat. However, Sharon's aides said Tuesday that Qureia could be a partner if he carries out the Palestinians' obligations under the road map peace plan, including disarming militants.
Qureia said he will "not be under an Israeli dictate" and will only be guided by the Palestinian national interest. He did not elaborate, but was expected to stick to Abbas' policy of refusing to clamp down on militants.
Other Israelis remained sharply critical of Qureia.
Commenting on the changes, Israel's army chief, Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, did not refer to Qureia by name, but said "there is an attempt now to reverse the process" of reform headed by Abbas, put forward a leadership will all paths leading to Arafat and "promote the logic of a temporary cease-fire, instead of an effort to dismantle the terror infrastructure."
Speaking at a counterterrorism conference, Yaalon also hinted Israel also could start targeting militant leaders from Syria to Lebanon to Iran who support Palestinian terror cells, saying "all leaderships should be held accountable."
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz also told legislators: "We are not going to cooperate with people who are doing what Arafat says."
In the West Bank city of Hebron, the 12-year-old Palestinian boy, Thaher Siyouri, was killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell fired at a suspected militants' hideout, witnesses said. He was watching the fighting with his family from the third floor of a nearby building.
Before demolishing the building, witnesses said the army sent two Palestinians inside, apparently to search it. Israel's Supreme Court has outlawed the practice of using Palestinian civilians as "human shields." The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the report.
Qureia, the Palestinian parliament speaker and one of the key people who helped negotiate the 1993 Israeli-Palestinian Oslo accord, was nominated Sunday by Arafat to replace Abbas.
Qureia has accepted the post in principle, but says Israel must take action on the road map, which envisions a Palestinian state in 2005.
Qureia said his first order of business would be negotiating a cease-fire with Israel. He warned that unless Israel lessens its hostility to Arafat and ends airstrikes on militant leaders, he'd be doomed to failure.
The nominee, who met with Arafat on Tuesday for the second time in two days, said he will need the Palestinian leader's backing to govern.
Raanan Gissin, a senior adviser to Sharon, told reporters in India that the Palestinian leadership must choose the path of peace if it wants Israel to cooperate.
Sharon's aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Qureia could be a partner.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Monday: "It will be critical that the new Cabinet continues to press for reforms and continues to fight terrorism."
Qureia is the No. 3 leader in Fatah, after Arafat and Abbas. Considered a moderate, the 65-year-old has maneuvered between Arafat and reform-minded legislators as parliament speaker.
Abbas, appointed in April under Israeli and U.S. pressure, was unpopular among Palestinians precisely because he was backed by Israel and frequently wrangled with Arafat. He resigned after Arafat refused to put the security services under his control.
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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