Posted on 03/27/2002 8:34:16 PM PST by Miss Antiwar
JERUSALEM -- In one of the worst Palestinian attacks in the past year, at least 19 Israelis died when a militant blew himself up Wednesday in a Netanya hotel where guests gathered for Passover dinner. The suicide attack wounded at least 140 others and all but wrecked the most recent U.S. attempt to broker peace.
The bombing in the seafront resort town -- the third suicide attack in the Jewish state in a week -- accelerated talk of a full-blown Israeli invasion of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Islamic militant group Hamas took responsibility for the blast and said they timed it to coincide with the Arab summit in Beirut, where delegates are considering a peace overture to Israel.
"This is a war and we have to simply demolish the Palestinian Authority," said Israeli Public Security Minister Uzi Landau, one of the more hawkish members of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Cabinet. "Instead of going in (to the West Bank) and coming out, we have to go in and do everything that needs to be done."
Landau stood near the Park Hotel's burned-out lobby, a bloody and battered scene where bodies lay scattered and medical workers wheeled wounded on gurneys. Hospital officials said many of the wounded were children.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat condemned the attack. As it has with other attacks, Israel blamed Arafat for it. President Bush said Arafat should do more to prevent such attacks. "There are people in the Middle East who would rather kill than have peace," Bush said during a speech in Atlanta.
The bomber walked past an armed guard just after 7:30 p.m. then set off a bag of explosives in a dining room filled with about 300 participating in a Seder, the ritual evening meal that ushers in the Jewish holiday.
The blast charred walls, shattered glass and left a large hole in the ceiling. With the hotel's electricity knocked out, emergency workers needed floodlights to see body parts and puddles of blood. Only two other attacks in the past year have been more deadly.
Hamas identified the bomber as Abdel Baset Odeh, 25, from the West Bank town of Tulkarem. Palestinian security sources said Odeh was wanted by Israel and the Palestinians.
"I was in the hotel and I heard the blast," said Claude Cohen, one of the hotel owners. "I ran to the lobby but I didn't see a thing."
Asked about security at the entrance, he lifted his shirt to reveal a gun strapped to his hip. "There was a guard at the door with a gun," he said. "We all have weapons." The guard did not consider the bomber suspicious, Israel TV said.
Arafat's Palestinian Authority said the attack was part of militant efforts to destroy U.S. truce efforts and scuttle the Arab peace plan. Earlier Wednesday, Arafat accepted a Saudi-sponsored initiative to trade land for peace with Israel.
In the past few days, Israeli officials have privately said the army was preparing a widespread assault on Palestinians, and said they would proceed with it if U.S. special envoy Anthony Zinni failed to broker a cease-fire. Zinni, a retired general, has been in the region for two weeks.
Netanya, about 30 miles north of Tel Aviv and a few miles west of the Israel-West Bank boundary, has been targeted frequently during the 18-month cycle of violence. Earlier this month, Palestinians shot at a hotel in the same area, killing an Israeli baby.
Police had expected a large Palestinian attack during the weeklong holiday, which began Wednesday night. Security officials thwarted two other suicide bombing attempts Tuesday and found explosives in an ambulance run by the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas, told Palestinian television that the bombing was a "message to the Arab League" meeting in Beirut. Hamas demands a separate Palestinian state.
"We say to Arab leaders that Palestinians will not surrender, no matter how strong our enemy is," Yassin said.
Confined to the West Bank by Israel, Arafat did not attend the Beirut summit. Sharon, resisting U.S. pressure to let the Palestinian leader go to Beirut, said earlier this week that Arafat must demand a cease-fire before he can travel.
Some analysts warned the policy could backfire on Israel and trigger more Palestinian violence.
"I think that when you deny Arafat room to maneuver diplomatically, he responds with terrorism," political analyst Yaron Ezrahi said.
But Israeli officials said Wednesday's bombing was planned well before Israel decided to prevent Arafat from leaving.
"This attack is concrete proof that the Palestinians under Yasser Arafat definitely reject the efforts made by General Zinni to bring about a cease-fire," said Zalman Shoval, a political adviser to Sharon. "What happened in Netanya will not go without a reaction."
During Zinni's mission, Israelis and Palestinians have met face-to-face, but have reported little progress toward a cease-fire. The State Department said Zinni would remain in the area and continue working, the New York Times reported. But Emmanuel Nashon, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman, said Zinni's mission could not "continue in the same way."
God help us!
Has Powell brainwashed Bush or something??
How could this happen? Beware of Arabs bearing backpacks? Does this ring a bell?
Uh huh. Just like it's "accelerated talk" every day in the last 18 months, and the same thing happens every time:
1) Moan and bitch.
2) Send tanks in.
3) Bomb something belonging to the PA.
4) Declare your point made, withdraw tanks.
5) Wait for more Israelis to die.
6) Repeat from step 1.
Until Netanyahu is reelected, the headline "Escalating Violence in Mideast" is going to be about as meaningful as "Impending Brutal Afghan Winter."
They'd better be careful what they wish for. If Israel finds its back to the wall, they will start using their nukes.
Eventually Israel will open up, but then they'll strike out massively and blindly rather than using only the force necessary to achieve whatever result they choose. Which will add a zero to the body count. I wouldn't be surprised if in five years the world has only half as many Arabs as it does now, with most of the few surviving Palestinians being residents of the Western Hemisphere prior to Israeli use of their nukes.
This is such a grave move on the US's part. Israel remains our only friend over in that region and now even that seems unstable!
I agree!
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