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The central bus station in Jerusalem.
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07/12
Ynetnews |
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| By israelinsider staff and partners July 12, 2005 |
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Police in Jerusalem evacuated the central bus station after discovering a package with electric wires protruding, attached to multiple gas canisters.
Sappers examining the package found no explosives on the 12-kilogram (26.4 pound) fake bomb. Instead, Channel 10 reported, they discovered an alarm clock, wires, a gas balloon, and a note with the slogan, "Disengagement will blow up in our faces," a saying used by some opponents of the pullout.
No one has taken responsibility for the prank, so it is not clear whether it was in fact anti-pullout protesters or authorities with an interest in "framing them" who actually committed the hoax.
Leaders of the anti-expulsion groups denied any connection with the stunt, and some said it had the hallmarks of a Shin Bet provocation to defame their movement. They noted security is routinely extremely tight at the Jerusalem central bus station, which is combined with a shopping mall. All people entering the building must pass through a metal detector, and packages are X-rayed. Therefore the chances of someone without security clearance bringing in multiple gas cannisters inside a men's room were slim to none.
Anti-pullout protesters also cited the staged "near-lynch" of two weeks ago, in which a Palestinian stone-thrower was allegedly beaten by a soldier, then posed by a photographer, with the media exaggerating his injuries and implicating settlers, one of whom is still in jail.
Jerusalem police officials blasted the fake bomb, after dozens of officers rushed to the scene to maintain order as thousands of people filed out of the station.
Jerusalem Police Chief Ilan Franco said the incident marks an escalation in right-wing anti-pullout protest. "I hope the escalation ends here. I call on the perpetrators to stop it now," he said. "There is a recurring method of operation here," he said. "This is a serious incident and must be treated as such. One of the main questions we must ask ourselves is how the (fake bomb) was brought into the station."
Interior Minister Ophir Paz-Pines said, "Those who had placed the bomb have crossed the line between legitimate protest and terror. "Those who have no qualms about placing fake bombs may eventually turn to murderous ones," he said.
Minister Matan Vilnai harshly condemned the incident, saying protesters had crossed red lines. "This was a very serious incident, meant to use our enemy's tactics to frighten innocent people and to disrupt police activities.
"The line between a fake bomb and a real one is very thin. The line that was crossed tonight should raise a red light throughout Israel. We must find the criminals that carried out this stunt and bring them to justice."
The AP contributed to this report.
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