Bombing Shatters Calm In Israel

A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up Wednesday at a falafel stand in an open-air market, killing himself and five Israelis in the deadliest attack in Israel in more than three months.

The bombing stifled faint peace hopes following Israel's Gaza pullout and embarrassed Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who only hours earlier had scolded militant groups for repeatedly violating a truce.

The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, saying the attack was to avenge the killing of its West Bank leader by Israeli forces this week.

Hadera is between Tel Aviv and Haifa, at one of Israel's most narrow points between the West Bank and the Mediterranean, said CBS News correspondent Robert Berger. It is flanked to the east by Israel's West Bank separation barrier, which is designed to keep out suicide bombers.

"Body parts reached all the way until my apartment building. The damage is really great," eyewitness Eidan Akiva told Channel Ten TV, saying he lived 100 yards 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."

The blast hit just hours after Iran's state-run media reported comments from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and saying a new wave of Palestinian attacks would destroy the Jewish state.

Recalling Iran's history of support for Islamic Jihad, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev criticized both Ahmadinejad's statement and another from Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas leader in Gaza who threatened fresh violence against Israel.

"Today, Israelis heard two extremists speak openly about destroying the Jewish state. One was the new president of Iran, and the other was the leader of Hamas, Mahmoud Zahar. And it appears the problem with these extremists is that they followed through on their violent declarations with violent actions," Regev told The Associated Press.

In Washington, White House spokesman Scott McClellan condemned the bombing. "The Palestinian Authority needs to do more to end the violence and prevent terrorist attacks from being carried out," he said. "The terrorist attacks that take place only undermine the leadership of President Abbas and undermine his principle of one authority, one law, one gun."

In a phone call to the AP, Islamic Jihad said the bombing was to avenge the killing of Luay Saadi, leader of the group's military wing in the West Bank. Saadi was killed in a shootout with Israeli soldiers closing in on his hideout in the Tulkarem refugee camp on Monday.

Wednesday also marked the 10th anniversary of the assassination of Islamic Jihad chief Fathi Shekaki outside a Malta hotel in a mission widely attributed to Israel.

Islamic Jihad signed on to an informal truce with Israel in February, but made the pledge meaningless by reserving the right to retaliate for any perceived Israeli violations. The four last suicide bombings in Israel — in March, July, September and on Wednesday — were carried out by Islamic Jihad. These blasts killed a total of 15 Israelis and wounded dozens.

In response, Israeli forces have stepped up their hunt for Islamic Jihad militants in the West Bank.
Islamic Jihad has been trying to distinguish itself from Hamas, its main political rival, which since the cease-fire agreement has refrained from carrying out suicide attacks in Israel. Leading Islamic Jihad members said privately their group keeps carrying out attacks because it wants to sharpen its image as less willing to compromise than the pragmatic Hamas which is increasingly transforming itself into a political party.

Islamic Jihad, which is boycotting the balloting, has no such restraints. The group has also received money from Iran, funneled to its cells in the West Bank by Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

Wednesday's blast came hours after an Israeli aircraft fired a missile into a field in northern Gaza in response to Palestinian rocket fire on an Israeli border town. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for firing some of the rockets, saying it was avenging Saadi's killing.

Abbas, in a speech before parliament, lashed out at the militants, saying they had no right to violate the cease-fire selectively. "No one has the right to respond here and there, unilaterally," he said.

Later, Abbas condemned the suicide attack, saying in a statement, "It harms Palestinian interests and could widen the cycle of violence, chaos, extremism and bloodshed."

"It is not permitted for anyone to take the law into their hands," he added.

Wednesday's suicide bomber was identified as a 20-year-old resident of the West Bank town of Qabatiyeh. His name, Hassan Abu Zeid, was announced over a bullhorn in Qabatiyeh, residents said. Israeli police said the man had been standing in line at the felafel stand before blowing himself up.

His parents were evacuating their home, fearing an Israeli response. His mother, Raqaiah, wailed, "Where are you, my dear son?" Relatives said he worked as a blacksmith with his father and disappeared after morning prayers on Wednesday.

The last suicide bombing in Israel, on Aug. 28 in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, killed only the bomber. Before that, a July 12 suicide blast at a shopping mall in the coastal town of Netanya killed five Israelis.

Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last month has raised hopes for a return to Mideast peacemaking after five years of bloodshed. However, the sides have failed to capitalize on the pullout's momentum, and Wednesday's bombing appeared to hurt prospects for a return to talks.

Israeli officials pointed the finger at Abbas' government for failing to control extremists. "The Palestinian Authority talks but doesn't do anything," Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra told Israel Radio.