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Hamas activists brandishing models of mortars and wearing fake explosives around their waists (AP)
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| By Amir Mizroch April 30, 2001 |
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Several attempts at terrorist acts - no injuries
Palestinian terrorists instigated several attacks on Israeli civilians yesterday, which fortunately resulted in no injuries. A bomb exploded in a Jewish settlement early in the morning. Shortly afterwards a suicide bomber blew himself up next to a school bus in Samaria. And an alert passer-by discovered a bomb inside a briefcase in central Netanya, which was safely detonated by security forces.
A bomb exploded in the Shaarei Tikva settlement near Oranit in the West Bank just after 5 a.m. on Sunday morning. There were no injuries but several houses were damaged. The bomb reportedly contained nails and other metal fragments, and was detonated with a cellular phone. A hole was discovered in Shaarei Tikva's security fence and police suspect that the terrorists had infiltrated into the settlement through the breach.
A booby-trapped car exploded alongside an Israeli school bus taking youths from the Shavei Shomron settlement to school. The explosion occurred at the junction to the village of Dir Sharaf west of Nablus, shortly after 7 a.m. There were no injuries, although some of the students were treated for shock. At first the exact cause of the blast was not known, but investigators found the body of a suicide bomber inside the car shortly afterwards.
One of the students on the bus, 18-year-old Elad Chazzan, described the scene to Army Radio: "We left the settlement Shavei Shomron, the second settlement we pass each morning on our way to Yeshiva, and suddenly I noticed a trail of smoke filling up into the bus, and then a very loud explosion."
Israel Radio reported that security sources believe the driver of the booby-trapped car was en route to carry out a terror attack within Israel but after spotting soldiers manning a nearby roadblock decided to detonate the device near the bus instead. This possibility seems unlikely due to a Channel 2 television report stating that the car had Palestinian license plates, which would have prevented its entry into Israel.
Alert citizens in Netanya prevent disaster
Police sappers defused a bomb after a vigilant passer-by noticed a suspicious looking briefcase close to a bank in Netanya's central Nordau neighborhood at about 9 a.m. yesterday. The passer-by opened the briefcase and noticed that it contained electricity wires. He then alerted the police who closed off the area and exploded the bomb with a remote-controlled robot. The police arrested several Arab suspects seen in the immediate vicinity at the time.
Later in the day, Netanya police were again alerted of a second explosive device. An alert shop owner saw a man leave an unattended paint can and ladder near his store and then drive away quickly. The incident raised the shop owner's suspicion and he immediately contacted the police. Once again, security forces quickly sealed the vicinity and detonated the device in a controlled explosion.
In another incident on Sunday, an Israeli youth was moderately injured by shattered glass when Palestinians threw rocks at the vehicle in which he was traveling on the Husan bypass road south of Bethlehem.
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