An afternoon bomb in the market area of the Tel Aviv suburb
of Or Yehudah set a stolen car ablaze and ignited several
other cars in its vicinity. In order to increase the scope
of damage, the bomb, which was in the trunk of the car, was
filled with nails, like other bombs used lately by
Palestinians. Eight people lightly wounded by the bomb were
hospitalized and released. Senior police officers said it
could only be described as a "miracle" since the area was
packed with pre-Independence Day shoppers.
One person, Yaakov Lilmaiyev of Tel Aviv, told a reporter
for the Jerusalem Post, "I came to change some shoes
and had just got out of my car and started to walk in the
direction of the shop when there was a tremendous explosion.
My car was totally destroyed, together with another one and
the car that exploded. I was just lucky I got out when I
did."
According to reporters on the scene, dozens of other people
had similar lucky escapes.
The possibility of another suicide bomber was raised because
of the confused statements issued by Hamas in claiming
responsibility for Sunday's attack in Kfar Saba, in which
local resident Dr. Mario Goldin was killed and 50 people
wounded, most of them lightly.
In another incident, an alert messenger raised the alarm
over a suspicious object near the Checkpost junction on the
northern outskirts of Haifa on Sunday evening. His quick
thinking in calling the police and stopping a worker at a
falafel stand from lifting the bag prevented a potential
disaster.
Police called upon the public to continue as normal while
keeping their eyes open for any suspicious persons,
vehicles, or objects, and to report them immediately.
For the first time in months, Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser Arafat yesterday condemned a bombing attack in
Israel, commenting on the Or Yehuda car bombing that "there
is no doubt we do not agree to any form of attack on Israeli
or Palestinian civilians." He made the comment after meeting
with Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel yesterday in
Ramallah.
However, according to Arieh O'Sullivan and Nina Gilbert of
the Jerusalem Post, a senior defense official said
that achieving peace with Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser Arafat appears impossible. The defense establishment
believes Arafat is in full control of the violence, but
doesn't believe he is capable of making peace and may leave
it up to his successors. The unnamed official said that
Arafat has not changed his positions in 35 years, and
appears relatively unconcerned about his people. However, he
seems not to be capable of reaching agreement, and only
understands conflict. The official maintained that the next
level of Palestinian leadership, such as Jibril Rajoub,
Mohammed Dahlan, and Amin Hindi, is ripe for making a
deal.
In testimony before the Knesset Foreign Affairs Committee, a
senior officer said that there are many warnings about
upcoming terror attempts, both in the territories and in
Israel. This is the beginning of the execution of a
strategic decision by Arafat who saw the Oslo period as a
transitional one that was to bring a permanent settlement
that would include a right of return which would bring some
150-200,000 Palestinians back to Israel at least. He created
an obligation to his people to bring about these goals, and
if not to return to violence. Now we are in the stage of
violence that is a direct result of Arafat's strategic
decision.
The senior officer in military intelligence said that there
are two main arms that are behind the terror. One is the
collective security apparatus of the Palestinian Authority
plus the Tanzim, and the other is the freed prisoners
including Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
Also Hizbullah and Osama Bin Laden are trying to move in.
Arafat believes that only talks together with terror will
bring him the results he feels that he needs.
