Grocery store owner murdered in suicide bombing attack

Israel Insider ^ | 6/19/2003 | Israel Insider

[Israel Insider]

A suicide bomber detonated a bag of explosives early Thursday morning in a grocery store located in Moshav Sde Trumot, in the Beit Shean Valley. Avner Mordechai, 63, the owner of the store, was critically injured in the blast, and later died of his injuries. Security forces are searching for the bomber's accomplices, who may have driven him to the site.

Media reports indicated that Hamas was close to accepting an agreement to stop "big" terror attacks in Israel. Moshav Sde Trumot is located a few miles north of the West Bank, inside the Green Line.

The attack occurred just after 6 a.m. Thursday morning. It was the second deadly terror attack in two days. Seven-year-old Noam Leibovitch, who was shot and killed when members of her family drove on the Highway 6 toll road near Kalkilya Tuesday night, was buried yesterday on Moshav Nir Etzion.

Eyewitnesses spotted the suspicious young Palestinian, carrying a large bag, near a bus stop outside the grocery store. Sde Trumot resident Asher Ben-Mussa, who left the grocery store minutes before the attack, said the Palestinian was wearing jeans and carrying a Nike bag. "He looked me in the eyes and then entered the grocery store," Ben-Mussa told Army Radio.

"The suicide bomber came near the store with plans to wait for a bus or for a larger crowd," said Israel Police Northern Commander Yaakov Borovsky. "He never planned to enter the grocery store."

According to ynet, a closed circuit television camera captured the bomber's image as he entered the grocery store. There was no one else inside besides the store's owner. Either the bomber detonated his explosives at that point, or he experienced a technical malfunction in his bomb.

Security forces immediately closed off Highway 90, which runs through Sde Trumot, as they searched for possible accomplices who may have driven the bomber to the moshav.

Security officials said that due to the construction of the security fence west of Jenin, terrorists were searching for new ways to penetrate into Israel. The last terror attack in the Beit Shean area occurred seven months ago, when terrorists opened fire at the local Likud Party headquarters.

Mordechai is survived by his wife, five daughters and one son, Israel Radio reported.

In talks with Palestinian Authority officials, representatives of Hamas have reportedly agreed to refrain from "big" terror attacks inside Israel which would disrupt the peace process.

[Alouette]

Now that the terrorists are being rewarded by the liquidation of "settlements" expect many more dead Jews.

[LarryM]

Now we can add another body to the Bush deathwatch. Our resolute President has now accepted that Hamas has to stop "big" terrorist attacks, but can go on with individual shootings, while, of course, Israel cannot kill Hamas leaders. So good of our leader in the "war on terror" to be so accommodating to the terror masters.

[adam_az]

This mans blood is on W's hands.

I double-dare ideologue Bush supporters to tell me this is part of his "big secret plan" to get Hamas, or chastize me for "not supporting the President's policies" or whatever - You will get the biggest verbal bitchslap of your puny, brainless life.

There are lots of idiot Democrats running, I'd sure like to see Bush face some opposition in the REPUBLICAN primary!@!!