Increased vigilance by Israeli security forces so far is proving unable to stop a wave of terror that many Palestinian groups promised would greet Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon. In the latest attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up in central Netanya on Sunday morning, killing three Israelis and wounding at least 65. This comes days after a bomber killed one Israeli by blowing up a taxi van in the Galilee on March 1.
Another bomb that was discovered in time Feb. 28 caused only property damage in downtown Tel Aviv.
Sunday’s attack in the seaside city came as security forces already were on heightened alert for possible attacks before the Purim holiday this week.
Sharon, who has been working to form a national unity government to confront the five-month long crisis with the Palestinians, said the latest bombing underscored the need for unity.
Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, selected by the Labor Party last Friday to serve as defense minister in a unity government, said he and Sharon would collaborate on a plan to combat terrorism. Ben-Eliezer said the plan would focus on reaching the perpetrators of terror attacks and those who control them, while trying to minimize collective punishment against the general Palestinian population.
Sunday’s blast came as heads of Israel’s security establishment were briefing the Cabinet at its weekly meeting — probably its last before the change of government — on the security situation.
General Security Service chief Avi Dichter updated the ministers on last week’s bombings. The security heads also briefed the ministers on steps being taken to prevent further attacks.
As part of efforts to prevent terrorist infiltrations from Palestinian-ruled territories, police have stepped up patrols along border areas and beefed up the security presence in large cities and vulnerable areas.
Israeli officials increasingly accuse the Palestinian Authority of failing to do anything against terror — and even encouraging and participating in attacks.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, an aide to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, denied Israeli accusations that the Palestinian Authority was partly to blame for the Netanya attack, saying Israel’s own policies are responsible.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday’s attack, although Hamas had threatened over the weekend that it has dozens of suicide bombers ready to act when Sharon takes office. Hamas officials praised the Netanya bombing as an “act of bravery” and “self-defense.”
The attack in Netanya occurred during Sunday morning rush hour, shortly before 9 a.m.
Police said the bomber apparently set off the explosive as he stood among a group of people at a crosswalk on the city’s main street, Herzl. Netanya has been the target of several previous attacks because of its relative proximity — about 10 miles — to the West Bank.
In January, dozens of people were wounded when a car bomb exploded about 100 yards from the site of Sunday’s attack.
An Israeli court issued a gag order on details of the investigation into Sunday’s attack. Earlier, however, Israel’s police commissioner, Shlomo Aharonishky, told reporters that the bomb appeared to be relatively small, and injuries were further reduced by the fact that the explosion occurred in an open space.
Witnesses said the bomber had tried to board a bus, but the driver refused entry to the Arab man with a heavy backpack. He then detonated the bomb on the street.
“I saw him bang on the door of the bus, but the driver, maybe sensing something, kept on going,” said Moshe Sitbon, who was in his store at the time of the attack.
Natanel Sasson, a volunteer for Magen David Adom, the Israeli Red Cross, who arrived at the site, said he was stunned to discover that his sister was injured in the attack.
“When I got to the site of the attack, I saw the wounded lying on the road and smelled the scorched smell I know from assisting in previous attacks,” Sasson said. “Suddenly, I saw my sister sitting among the wounded.”
Sasson helped his sister to an ambulance, which took her to the hospital. Her injuries were described as light.
Following the attack, several citizens attacked Arab workers in the area. One worker was seriously hurt and required hospitalization.
In a possibly related incident, Israel Radio reported that a man entered a supermarket in central Jerusalem on Sunday afternoon and stabbed three Arab workers. The attacker fled, and the motive for the assault was not immediately clear.
Sunday’s bombing came days ahead of Purim, which in recent years has been a magnet for terrorist attacks. Yisrael, a Netanya municipal worker who reached the scene of Sunday’s suicide bombing shortly after the explosion, said he would not let his children take part in public festivities this year.
The attack prompted calls from Sharon’s potential coalition partners to conclude negotiations and put a government in place.
On Friday, Sharon’s negotiators reached agreements with the far-right Israel, Our Home Party.
On Sunday, a deal was struck with Shas, a large, fervently Orthodox party, removing the largest remaining obstacle to a government.
Sharon has said he wants to present his government on Wednesday.
“The immediate creation of the Sharon government is the order of the day, in order to enable us to truly deal with the war going on inside Israel,” National Religious Party member Shaul Yahalom said, warning that Israel is in a “dangerous twilight” of governmental transition.
A letter Sharon provided the Israel, Our Home faction drew criticism from the Labor Party, which said it contradicted agreements between Labor and Likud.
The letter stated that the new government will not be obligated by proposals raised in the Barak administration’s peace talks in Camp David, Washington and Taba, that it will honor ratified agreements only if they are upheld by both sides, that it will be committed to a whole and unified Jerusalem, and that it will adhere to Israeli interpretations of disputed U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.
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