| Bomber hits Israeli hotel, scores of casualties |
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(Updates casualty figures, adds Israeli reaction)
JERUSALEM, March 27 (Reuters) - A Palestinian suicide bomber
blew himself up in a hotel in the Israeli coastal resort town of
Netanya on Wednesday, killing 15 people and wounding about 80,
Israeli television and witnesses said.
Witnesses in the chaotic immediate aftermath said they saw
up to 12 bodies from the attack, which coincided with an Arab
summit in Beirut where Saudi Arabia presented a plan for peace
between the Arab world and Israel.
In a first reaction, an Israeli government spokesman laid
the blame for the blast on Palestinian President Yasser Arafat,
currently bottled up by Israel in his West Bank headquarters.
"Arafat is to blame for the violence that emanates from the
territories under his control," said spokesman David Baker.
"It is clear the Palestinians are bent on using everything
at their disposal for killing and maiming as many Israelis as
possible anywhere, anytime."
The Palestinan Authority had no immediate reaction.
Palestinian militants have staged a series of bombings in
Israel since launching an uprising against Israeli occupation
some 18 months ago, killing and wounding scores of people.
Wednesday's attack occurred shortly after Jews began
celebrating the week-long Passover holiday at sundown and
Israeli security forces had been on red alert for attacks,
although synagogues had been considered the most likely target.
Israeli Channel 2 television said a man with a bag had
entered the lobby of the hotel past a security guard and then
detonated his load near a dining room.
"A suicide bomber walked into the lobby of the Park Hotel in
Netanya and blew himself up," a police spokesman told Reuters.
Television footage showed the lobby of the seaside hotel all
but devastated. Witnesses said the blast flung debris everywhere
and wires were seen hanging crazily from the ceiling.
Victims were carried away on stretchers to ambulances with
red lights flashing and sirens wailing. Gun-toting policemen and
soldiers milled among the stricken crowd.
((Jerusalem newsroom, +972 2 537 5052,
jerusalem.newsroom@reuters.com))
27 MAR 2002 18:53:09