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Police at scene of the attack. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners October 26, 2005 |
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| A body lies covered among the ruined fruit and vegetable stands. (AP) |
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A suicide bomber blew himself up Wednesday next to a food stand in the central Israeli town of Hadera, killing five and wounding at least 30 people, five seriously. The blast left a scene of destruction at an open air market, police and rescuers said.
Ambulances rushed to the scene after the explosion at the crowded entrance to a store in the market, Israel Radio reported. Police said the attack was a suicide bombing, with the assailant carrying a briefcase, in the market at the corner of Herbert Samuel and Rothschild Streets, near the central bus station.
Rescue teams were treating the wounded in a nearby field. Police said they believed there were dead but could not confirm it.
"We are talking about a serious attack, and the number of wounded is relatively high, and the last of the wounded are being evacuated at this time," said Yeruham Mendola, a spokesman for the Magen David Adom rescue service. Mendola said 30 people were hurt, including five in serious condition.
"Body parts reached all the way up to my apartment building. The damage is really great," Idan Akiva told Channel 10 TV, saying he lived 100 meters from the blast.
"All the stalls alongside just fell apart. The windows are all broken. It looks like a war was here," he said. "This is a very crowded place, very central place. We never expected that this would happen. We thought our world was good but apparently we were wrong."
An eyewitness named Elyakim told Israel Radio: "I can't describe what I saw... I heard the blast. I stepped outside of the store I was in and saw bodies on the ground."
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, returning from a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, said: "This morning the Egyptian president said that the Islamic Jihad and Hamas are planning attacks. This evening we will hold a situation analysis to determine what happened and we will do whatever is necessary to protect the citizens of Israel."
Communications Minister Daliah Itzik cancelled her meeting with her Palestinian counterpart, Sabari Sayidam. "We can't sit and talk with the Palestinian leadership ... while innocent Israeli civilians are murdered by Palestinians. We expect the Palestinian Authority to start acting, to disarm the extremist terror organizations, and to prevent criminal attacks."
Knesset Member Aryeh Cohen (National Union) said: "I call on the prime minister and defense minister, who promised the Israeli nation an improved security situation after the disengagement, to resign," noting sarcastically that the bomber "was in Israeli custody, and released because he didn't have blood on his hands."
Left-wing MK Ran Cohen (Meretz-Yahad) said: "Mahmoud Abbas must stop terror immediately and prove that he is different from Arafat. Likewise, Israeli leaders must not deceive the public. It should be said bravely that without diplomatic steps, a vacuum will be created into which terrorism will enter."
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat denounced the bombing. "We condemn this attack in Hadera, as we've always condemned suicide attacks on Israeli civilians, and we hope that we will not allow this attack or any attack to undermine the cessation of violence between the two sides. At the end of the day, violence breeds more violence and we don't want to go back to this vicious cycle."
The suicide bomber who carried out the attack was identified as a 20-year-old resident of the town of Qabatiyeh in Samaria. The bomber's name, Hassan Abu Zeid, was announced over a bullhorn in the town, residents said. Israel Radio reported he was released about one month ago from Israeli prison, as a prisoner who did not (yet) have "blood on his hands."
Islamic Jihad claimed credit, saying the attack was revenge for the killing of Luay Saadi by the IDF in a firefight earlier this week. Abu al-Muaman, one of the organization's leaders in the Bank, told Ynet that "This attack is merely a preliminary response by the Palestinian rebellious groups, and harder retaliation is on its way."
An Islamic Jihad leader in the Gaza Strip, Khaled al-Batash said that "the bombing was a blessed operation, carried out by blessed hands," ynet reported.
ynet quoted diplomatic sources in Jerusalem, speaking in response to the terror attack in Hadera, have said that "the instructions to carry out the attacks come from Damascus and are carried out through local terror cells." The same was said about recent rocket attacks carried out by Jihad.
The sources said that the attack was not primarily revenge, as the terror organization is attempting to portray them, "but rather a matter of clear strategic policy. It's part of the decision by terror groups to transfer their center of activities to Judea and Samaria since the disengagement. Not a single one of them buys the strategy of Abu Mazen, according to which an agreement with the terror organizations can be reached via dialogue and negotiations." Military analysts noted that an attack of this magnitude would have required more than three days to plan.
Palestinian terror groups agreed to a ceasefire last March. Since then, the level of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has dropped sharply despite periodic flare-ups.
Hadera has been relatively quiet since the erection of the security barrier separating the city and central Israel from Palestinian controlled areas.
Arutz Sheva reports that this was at least the fourth murderous terror attack in Hadera since the Palestinian Authority instigated the Oslo War five years ago. Previous attacks in the city:
* In Nov. 2000, two people were killed by a car-bomb.
* In Oct. 2001, four women were killed by PA policemen from Jenin who opened random fire on a crowded street from inside a car.
* In Jan. 2002, a terrorist entered a Bat Mitzvah celebration and opened random fire, killing six.
Several bombs were detonated in the city during this period, but without murderous results. In May 2001, a car bomb exploded on a crowded Hadera street, but the only person killed was the driver of the car bomb himself.
The AP contributed to this report.
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