Fourteen were reported dead and as many as 65 wounded in the
deadliest bombing in months as a bus traveling from Kiryat
Shemoneh to Tel Aviv exploded in northern Israel. The
explosion occurred when a jeep packed with explosives drove
up behind the bus near Pardess Channa and blew up.
Israeli officials blamed the Palestinian Authority for the
bombing, but political sources say the government is unlikely
to respond this time with any dramatic actions. The Islamic
Jihad claimed responsibility, but analysts say that it is now
fully controlled by Hamas. The attack is believed to have
been planned by bomb expert Iyad Sawalha, 30, a former Fatah
member who lives in the Jenin area. He has been at the top of
the list of those wanted by the IDF for some months.
Monday's attack came as Israel, urged on by U.S. officials,
was making efforts to ease hardships on the Palestinian
population and seeking ways to advance the diplomatic
process. Israel had been lifting curfews imposed over the
past few months on Palestinian population centers in Judea
and Samaria to prevent terrorists from infiltrating
Israel.
Israeli police said the explosives-packed jeep apparently
came from the Jenin area, three days after Israeli troops
pulled out of the city and lifted the curfew.
There are a number of Islamic Jihad cells operating in
northern Samaria, many of them in villages, due to the
constant IDF presence in major Palestinian towns. Security
officials noted that the curfew had been lifted from Jenin
recently, but that troops maintain a tight blockade around
the town and have also dug a two-meter-deep ditch in some
areas. The officials noted that the fact that the terrorist
drove a jeep points to the possibility he drove on dirt roads
and rough terrain to avoid detection.
The Shin Bet noted that in the last two weeks, 49 warnings of
specific warnings of terror attacks had been received. Five
attacks were thwarted, 25 terrorists were arrested, and two
potential suicide bombers were killed.
Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer recently said that
Israel's dilemma is that as soon as it eases restrictions on
the Palestinian populace, terrorists exploit the situation to
carry out attacks.
The Islamic Jihad said its attack was revenge for the killing
of eight Palestinians during clashes in the Gaza Strip last
week, but Israeli military analysts said that the Palestinian
terrorists are always working at full capacity and are not
evidently affected by events.
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres blamed the Palestinian
Authority for the attack, saying it is doing nothing to fight
terrorism. "The least we expect is that the Palestinians
really show an effort to stop it even if they did not
organize it," Peres said in Luxembourg.
President Bush condemned the bombing, calling it another
reminder of the importance of achieving peace and halting
terrorism.
The attack came as the assistant U.S. secretary of state,
William Burns, was to hold talks in the region on ways to
revive the diplomatic process. Some Israeli officials charged
that the attack was aimed at undermining the mission by
Burns, who was due to arrive in Israel on Wednesday.
"Those who committed the crime will not be exonerated, they
will pay the price, but at the right time and place," a
senior diplomatic source said. "Islamic Jihad, which is based
in Damascus, will not be left alone. We will catch them and
bring them to justice or justice will be brought to them."
The Prime Minister's Office denied there is American pressure
not to respond, saying the Americans understand the need to
respond to terrorism.
The No. 841 Egged bus had stopped to pick up passengers at
Karkur junction when the jeep carrying more than 100
kilograms of explosives pulled alongside and blew up. A
typical suicide bomber carries 5-10 kilograms of explosives.
The massive fire that engulfed the bus after the fuel tank
caught fire hampered rescue efforts.
Israel Stefansky, a ZAKA Volunteer on the site of the suicide
bomb, said that two ZAKA medics on motorcycle arrived at the
Karkur Junction just minutes after the explosion and
immediately began treating the wounded.
"We had difficulty reaching the wounded because the bus was
on fire," said Stefansky. "But as of 5:12 p.m. our medics had
finished helping evacuate the wounded to area hospitals."
Among the five seriously wounded are a two-year-old girl
suffering from a torn liver and her four-year-old brother who
were traveling in a car with their mother.
The method used in Monday's attack was similar to a June 5
bus bombing on the same road, in which a car bomb blew up
beside a bus near Megiddo junction, killing 17 people.
