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Police officers investigate the scene of a double suicide bombing in TelAviv, in which three people were killed and nearly 40 were wounded. (AP)
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| By israelinsider staff July 18, 2002 |
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At least three people were killed when two suicide bombers, some 20 meters apart, blew themselves up in sequence shortly after 10 pm Wednesday evening near the old central bus station in the Neve Sha'anan section of south Tel Aviv.
At least 30 people were wounded and taken to hospital. Eight are reported in serious condition.
Police Chief Shlomo Aharonisky said that most of the
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"I offered him sex, but he replied 'no, I am going to die tonight.'"
A prostitute in the bombing area, quoted in The Jerusalem Post.
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injured were foreign workers, primarily from Eastern Europe and East Asia, who reside in the area. The area is often crowded in the evening.
The blast came on Tisha b'Av, a Jewish fast commemorating the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem. Restaurants and entertainment sites in many other parts of the city and the country were closed.
The bombs were strapped to the waists of the bombers, and contained nails and scrap metal to maximize the effect of the blast.
Naomi, a prostitute who works in the area, was quoted by The Jerusalem Post as saying that she called out to "a young Arab, wearing shorts and carrying two nylon bags."
"I offered him sex, but he replied 'no, I am going to die tonight,'" said Naomi, the Post reported. She reportedly tried to call the police but was not answered. "Five minutes later I heard two loud explosions," she said.
An unconfirmed claim of responsibility came from Islamic Jihad. But Hamas also claimed credit.
Israel blamed the Palestinian Authority which, in the words of the Prime Minister's spokesman David Baker, "continues to do nothing to stop the murderous attacks launched from its territory."
"This attack in Tel Aviv proves that Palestinian terrorists are determined to murder, maim and terrorize as many Israelis as they can, thinking that by doing so they can pressure Israel into concessions," he told The Associated Press.
Internal Security Minister Uzi Landau called the Tel Aviv bombing "a systematic, intentional massacre" and linked it to the attack on a bus the day before near the settlement of Emmanuel.
"We are witnessing the massacre of entire families," he told Israel Radio. "These are war crimes, crimes against humanity, as Amnesty International called them."
Landau called for continuing the military campaign against the Palestinian Authority. "We will... break up the entire Palestinian security apparatus... to bring about the complete collapse of the Palestinian Authority."
On January 25th, 32 people were injured in a suicide attack in a cafe in the same neighborhood.
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