Posted on 04/17/2006 9:05:30 AM PDT by West Coast Conservative
A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up outside a fast-food restaurant in a bustling area of Tel Aviv during the Passover holiday Monday, killing eight other people and wounding at least 49 in the deadliest Palestinian attack in more than a year.
The Palestinians' new Hamas leaders called the attack a legitimate response to Israeli "aggression." Israel said it held Hamas ultimately responsible — even though a different militant group, Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility — and would respond "as necessary."
"We shall, of course, continue to use all means at our disposal to prevent every other attempt," Israeli Prime Minister-designate Ehud Olmert said.
Israeli defense chiefs were to consult later Monday, but security officials said a possible reoccupation of Gaza, the base of the new Hamas government, was not being considered.
The White House strongly condemned the attack, calling it "a despicable act of terror for which there is no excuse or justification."
A security guard posted outside the restaurant, the target of a suicide bombing in January, prevented Monday's bomber from entering the building, police said.
It was the first suicide attack in Israel since the Hamas militant group took over the Palestinian government 2 1/2 weeks ago. Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in attacks, has largely observed a cease-fire since February 2005.
Islamic Jihad, which is believed to be funded in part by Iran and refuses to observe a cease-fire, claimed responsibility in a telephone call to The Associated Press. The group identified the bomber as Sami Salim Mohammed Hammed, from the West Bank town of Jenin.
Islamic Jihad later released a video showing Hammed reading a statement saying the bombing was dedicated to the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
"There are many other bombers on the way," he said.
Hammed, appearing to be in his teens, was dressed in black and wore a headband with yellow Quranic verses written on it.
Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for all six of the previous suicide attacks inside Israel since the cease-fire was declared. On Sunday, the group pledged to carry out more attacks.
The response by Hamas leaders represented a sharp departure from the previous Palestinian leadership's immediate condemnations of such attacks.
"We think that this operation ... is a direct result of the policy of the occupation and the brutal aggression and siege committed against our people," said Khaled Abu Helal, spokesman for the Hamas-led Interior Ministry.
Earlier, Moussa abu Marzouk, a Hamas leader abroad, told Al-Jazeera television that "the Israeli side must feel what the Palestinian feels, and the Palestinian defends himself as much as he can."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of the rival Fatah Party, condemned the bombing, calling it a "terrorist attack."
The bomber struck at about 1:40 p.m. at "The Mayor's Falafel" restaurant, which was targeted in a Jan. 19 attack that wounded 20 people. The restaurant is in the bustling Neve Shaanan neighborhood near Tel Aviv's central bus station, which was crowded with holiday travelers.
Police said the restaurant hired a security guard after the earlier bombing, and that guard apparently was injured in Monday's blast.
A witness, Moussa al Zidat, said the guard asked the apparent bomber to open his bag.
"I saw a young man starting to open his bag. The guard begins opening the bag, and then I heard a boom."
Witness Israel Yaakov said the blast killed a woman standing near her husband and children.
"The father was traumatized. He went into shock. He ran to the children to gather them up and the children were screaming, 'Mom! Mom!' and she wasn't answering, she was dead already ... it's a shocking scene," Yaakov said.
Another witness, 62-year-old Sonya Levy, said she had just finished shopping when the blast occurred.
"I was about to get into my car, and boom! There was an explosion. A bit of human flesh landed on my car and I started to scream," she said.
Her car was 50 yards from the explosion and its windshield was smeared with blood.
Olmert said the blast came as no surprise.
"It's not something that we didn't fear would happen, we know the terrorist organizations groups continue at every moment to look for opportunities to carry out attacks inside Israel," he said. "The security forces are deployed in every corner, every place, but we also know that there is no way we can always prevent such attacks, under all circumstances, in every case."
Police said nine people, including the bomber, were killed. Medics said nine of the injured were in serious condition.
The wounded were treated on sidewalks. One man was lying on his side, his shirt pushed up and his back covered by bandages. A bleeding woman was wheeled away on a stretcher. A dazed-looking man walked near the site, his white T-shirt splattered with blood.
The blast shattered the windshields of cars, and blew out the windows of nearby buildings. The ground was covered with glass shards and blood. The sign of the restaurant's building was blown away. Bottles and other debris were scattered up to 25 yards from the site of the blast.
While rescue crews tended to the wounded, a helicopter hovered overhead and a marksman took position on the roof of the targeted building.
Later, Israeli police stopped a car carrying three Palestinians suspected of aiding the bomber, officials said. The car, identified by witnesses at the scene of the attack, was stopped at a checkpoint on a highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, police said.
Authorities suspected the vehicle was "directly connected" to the attack, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The car's three occupants were detained for questioning, and a bomb squad was examining the vehicle.
Monday's bombing was the deadliest since Aug. 31, 2004, when suicide bombers on two buses in Beersheba killed 16 Israelis.
It was the second major Passover bombing in four years. In 2002, a Palestinian bomber blew himself up at a hotel in the coastal town of Netanya, killing 29 people. That attack triggered a major Israeli military offensive.
Palestinian militants have carried out nine suicide attacks in Israel and the West Bank since a Feb. 8, 2005, truce declaration. All but one attack have been carried out by Islamic Jihad.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Gideon Meir said Israel held Hamas ultimately responsible for such attacks because it is "giving support to all the other terrorist organizations."
"From our point of view it doesn't matter if it comes from Al Aqsa, Islamic Jihad or Hamas. They all come out of the same school of terrorism led by Hamas," he said.
Easy, cutting off the hand that feeds their enemy, Israel. I can't figure out how Israel puts up with the outrages committed against them. Roll 'em up and ship em out I say. Give all pali's a test to see if they are prone to violence and drop em off somewhere.
American Teenager Among the Critically Wounded
20:13 Apr 17, '06 / 19 Nisan 5766
(IsraelNN.com) Doctors in Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv are still working to save the life of a 16-year-old American who was among the wounded in Monday afternoon’s suicide bombing attack in the city’s N’vei Sha’anan neighborhood.
The victim has been in surgery for some six hours, with doctors describing his condition as critical.
"Just reading about these horrors raises my blood pressure. Dear heaven, how long will these atrocities continue?"
It will continue until Israel drops a MOAB on the Gaza shopping district on the eve of the Sabbath.
Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel.
..................
Already the commie and left wing retards are painting this as not reflective of palestinians.
apparently half of palestinians love life and respect laws. it is only a section that is for terror. /sarcasm.
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/17/telaviv.blast/index.html
"The Roadmap", of course! It leads here...
While they may be a Monotheistic religion, so is Satanism. It is not Blasphemy if your God commands it.
If I may be so bold as to quote your Answer from Mohammad himself; “Allah's Apostle said, ‘A man may seem as if he were practicing the deeds of Paradise while in fact he is from the people of Hell.'”
Bukhari:V4B52N147
The Palestinians are not worthy of consideration by the civilised world. In our multicultural era, we're not supposed to say such things - but these people are savages and barbarians.
The policy in the 19th century was to shoot savages and barbarians that caused a problem. That should be the policy in this century too.
Regards, Ivan
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.