Israel Suicide Bombings.

**Monk** · 27 Oct 05,, 15:12

The bastards are at it again. They no longer have any rational purpose, this is purely murder of the innocents at its most gruesome.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.d...YT03/510270471

JERUSALEM, Oct. 26 - A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up Wednesday at a falafel stand in an outdoor market in Hadera, an Israeli coastal town, killing five other people and wounding more than two dozen, the Israeli police said.

The Israeli fatalities were the first from a suicide bombing in more than three months, and Israel criticized the Palestinian Authority, saying that it had failed to act against armed factions.

The powerful blast left the street littered with body parts and overturned fruit crates as ambulances and rescue workers descended on the market in Hadera.

"I saw people, bodies on the ground, all covered with blood," one witness, Shlomit Ashkenazi, told Israel Radio. "People rushed around frantically. All I could think was that this is terrifying, and so I began to run."

The Palestinian faction Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack and called it retaliation for the killing on Sunday night of Luay Saadi, one of the group's leaders, who was shot in Tulkarm, a West Bank town about 10 miles southeast of Hadera.

The bombing was condemned by the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, who only hours earlier had criticized militant Palestinian groups for violating a truce with Israel. He said in a statement that the violence "harms the Palestinian interests and could widen the cycle of violence, chaos, extremism and bloodshed."

But Israel said the Palestinian leadership bore responsibility because it had refused to use its security forces to break up the factions.

"In those places where the Palestinian Authority fails to deal with terrorists, we will have to do it," said Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "And we can't wait."

Mr. Gissin did not specify what steps Israel might take, though in recent weeks the security forces have staged almost daily incursions in the West Bank, arresting hundreds of suspects linked to Islamic Jihad and another militant group, Hamas. Israel also has placed additional travel restrictions on West Bank roads in an attempt to prevent Palestinian gunmen from staging roadside ambushes of Jewish settlers.

[Israeli warplanes fired missiles into Gaza early Thursday, hitting what the military said were Palestinian militants' sites, Reuters reported. The Israeli military said the airstrike was intended to prevent militants from firing rockets into Israel.

[Palestinian witnesses said a second Israeli air raid damaged a road in northern Gaza.

[No casualties were reported.]

News media reports identified the bomber in Hadera as Hassan Abu Zeid, who was in his 20's. But the Israeli security forces did not identify him.

Islamic Jihad is a small faction, but has carried out many bombings and shootings against Israel, including all three suicide bombings that have killed Israeli civilians this year.

Israel said Mr. Saadi, who was killed Sunday, had orchestrated the two previous bombings, a February blast that killed five Israelis at a Tel Aviv nightclub and a July explosion that killed five outside a shopping mall in Netanya.

Speaking in the Palestinian parliament shortly before the bombing, Mr. Abbas denounced the recent renewal of Palestinian rocket fire from northern Gaza into southern Israel, which started after the death of Mr. Saadi.

"We have to understand that we must not give Israel the excuse to hit back," Mr. Abbas said. Those who do act on their own "should be confronted with an iron fist," he added.

But Mr. Abbas has sought to persuade the armed factions to halt attacks, and the security forces have rarely taken action against the militant groups.

In March, Islamic Jihad was among the Palestinian factions that told Mr. Abbas they would refrain from attacking Israel, as long as Israel stopped raiding Palestinian areas.

Israel said it would halt incursions in Palestinian areas unless it faced the threat of attack, but the military says actual and planned attacks have been on the rise recently, prompting the frequent West Bank raids.

In his speech to parliament, Mr. Abbas reiterated that, barring an "act of God," Palestinian parliamentary elections would be held as planned on Jan. 25.

Mr. Abbas's Fatah faction, which has dominated Palestinian politics for decades, is expected to face a strong challenge from Hamas, the group that has carried out the largest number of suicide bombings against Israel in recent years.

Hamas is competing in parliamentary elections for the first time, but says it has no intention of putting down its weapons.

"Who can confiscate the weapons of the armed organizations? Certainly not the Palestinian Authority by itself," Dr. Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas leader, said in an interview with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. "Only an agreement of all the groups will allow such a thing."

Hamas's charter calls for the destruction of Israel, and Dr. Zahar was asked if Hamas would consider changing it. "No one is thinking now about changing the charter, but in principle it is not impossible," he said.

In neighboring Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak and Israel's defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, reached an agreement in principle that would allow the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between southern Gaza and Egypt.

The plan calls for Palestinians and Egyptians to manage the border, with supervision from European monitors. In addition, closed-circuit television cameras will allow Israeli security forces to monitor the crossing without being present, Israeli officials said.

Goods will be inspected at a separate crossing point a few miles away, at the spot where the borders of Israel, Egypt and Gaza converge.

**Monk** · 27 Oct 05,, 15:15

Well the Israelis got one of the Bastards at Jenin, West bank.

http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stor...s-0091447.html

JENIN, West Bank - Israeli troops entered this West Bank town Thursday and witnesses said they arrested a local leader of Islamic Jihad, pushing forward with an offensive against the Palestinian militant group following a suicide bombing that killed five Israelis.

The army confirmed it had carried out an operation in Jenin, and said the troops were withdrawing.

Israel launched an offensive against Islamic Jihad earlier Thursday, a day after the suicide bombing at an outdoor market in central Israel. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had promised a "broad and nonstop" response to the bombing.

The threatened Israeli response to the bombing in the central town of Hadera ratcheted up pressure on Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to confront militant groups. Abbas has refused to crack down on armed groups such as Islamic Jihad, fearing civil war.

"Unfortunately the Palestinian Authority has not taken any serious action to battle terrorism," Sharon said before meeting the visiting Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. "We will not accept under any circumstances a continuation of terrorism. Therefore our activities will be broad and nonstop until they halt terrorism."

The four airstrikes in the Gaza Strip targeted open fields used by militants to fire rockets, the army said.

The suicide bombing embarrassed Abbas, who hours before the attack demanded that the militant groups stop violating a cease-fire declared in February.

The much larger Hamas militant group, which plans to run in January parliamentary elections, has largely scaled back its attacks since the truce declaration. In contrast, Islamic Jihad is not participating in the vote and has much less to lose by continuing to attack Israel.

Israeli officials accused archenemies Iran and Syria of assisting the attackers, noting that Islamic Jihad is funded by Tehran and is headquartered in Damascus.

The attack came hours after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad praised suicide bombings and said Israel should be "wiped off the map."

Sharon called for Iran to be tossed out of the United Nations for the president‘s comments, which drew wide international condemnation.

Sharon made the call during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"The prime minister said that a state which calls for the destruction of another people cannot be a member of the United Nations," according to a statement released by his office.

Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz approved the latest offensive in a series of overnight telephone calls, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said.

"Islamic Jihad has declared war on every Israeli civilian and of course we‘re 100 percent entitled to take the appropriate action to defend our civilians," Regev said.

"Ultimately, Israel still hopes the Palestinian Authority will follow through on their own commitments to disarm these groups and that will make the necessity for Israeli action superfluous."

Israeli media compared the operation to Operation Defensive Shield of April 2002, launched in response to a suicide bombing in a hotel that killed 29 Israelis on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

During that offensive, Israel retook control of Palestinian towns and cities, killing and arresting dozens of militants in house-to-house arrest sweeps. In more than two weeks of fighting, 208 Palestinians and 25 Israeli soldiers were killed.

Capt. Yael Hartmann, an army spokeswoman, said security services were bracing for more attacks planned by Islamic Jihad. As part of its response, Israel sealed off its crossings with Gaza and declared a complete closure on the West Bank.

The measure prevents laborers from entering Israel, keeps Palestinians from visiting relatives in Israeli prisons, and blocked Palestinian goods from exports. The closure came just a day after similar restrictions, in effect for the monthlong period of Jewish holidays, had been lifted.

In Qabatiyeh, the suicide bomber‘s hometown, the army arrested the attacker‘s father overnight along with four other Islamic Jihad militants, Palestinian security officials said. The army confirmed the arrests, but declined to say whether the bomber‘s father had been detained.

The bomber, Hassan Abu Zeid, 20, attacked a food stand in Hadera‘s open-air marketplace, killing five Israelis and wounding 30. Three people remained in critical condition Thursday.

**Ray** · 27 Oct 05,, 17:36

I really wonder if the Palestinians want a State for themselves.

This is hardly the way to get it.

This way they are just isolating themselves. More so because the withdrawal from Gaza till indicate that things were on the move.

It must also be realised that the withdrawal from Gaza was not a very easy decision for Sharon.

This way the real hardliners in Israel will get the upper hand and then allow the complete Palestinian population to blow themselves up as suicide bombers!

**Monk** · 27 Oct 05,, 17:38

Originally Posted by Ray

I really wonder if the Palestinians want a State for themselves.

This is hardly the way to get it.

This way they are just isolating themselves. More so because the withdrawal from Gaza till indicate that things were on the move.

It must also be realised that the withdrawal from Gaza was not a very easy decision for Sharon.

This way the real hardliners in Israel will get the upper hand and then allow the complete Palestinian population to blow themselves up as suicide bombers!

I think you have really hit the nail on the head here sir. I have serious doubts whether the palestinians want a state for themselves. This incident is the worst thing that could have happened.

**~~platinum786~~** · 27 Oct 05,, 19:18

Quite frankly i think PA is incapable of controlling militant factions, it's as good as fact.
They have no power, all the guns are with Hamas etc, all the votes are with them too.

PA know that thier policies of violence have been taken to new extremes by these organisations and there is nothing they can do to control them. PA has failed on the political front to show ability, Israel made a step on it's own accord not due to PA political pressure, so really they have won no battles and that looks bad in the polls therefore they don't want to take actions against militants who are increasingly popular even if they could.

**lwarmonger** · 27 Oct 05,, 20:42

Originally Posted by Monk

I think you have really hit the nail on the head here sir. I have serious doubts whether the palestinians want a state for themselves. This incident is the worst thing that could have happened.

Some very powerful factions within Palestine don't want a state. They realize that would reduce their support from among the people, and so they will sabotage the peace process, and garner significant support from among the Palestinian population for doing so. It has gone too far for peace.

As for the PA, it has never really been "native" to Palestine (in it's formative years it was largely an instrument of Egypt and Syria). Even in the days when it was formed, it was not really made up from among the "people." And the time it spent in Tunisia didn't really help. Hamas has it's feet more on the ground, so to speak.