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January 19, 2006
Israel: Islamic Jihad Caused Tel Aviv Suicide Bombing
News from Reuters AlertNet and Arutz Sheva that a suicide bomber detonated explosives in Tel Aviv, Israel, earlier today, which wounded at least 16 people.
The bomb attack happened at a popular food stand and open-air restaurant near the old and new bus stations this afternoon. One individual is seriously wounded, one is with moderate injuries, and about a dozen have light injuries.
The casualty count is not as high as it could have been, due to the ineptitude of those who organised the suicide attack. Israel Radio states that the bomber did not manage to detonate all the explosives which he carried on his back, but he did succeed in killing himself.
According to one witness report: "His body was blown in half, his head went one way and his legs the other." The explosion destroyed the ceiling of the restaurant.
Both Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigades and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. The senior leader of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Khaled al-Batsh, praised the actions of the failed murderer.
"Regardless of who carried out the attack, it was a natural response against the continued Israeli assassination of fighters and killing of innocents," he said.
I expect that IDF will soon be preparing their own natural response to this calculated attack upon harmless civilians.
Update: Reuters AlertNet states that the bomber posed as a peddlar, and went into the restaurant offering in Hebrew to sell razor-blades. Minutes later he blew himself up.
The head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas has claimed that the attack was designed to sabotage the Palestinian parliamentary election, which will take place on January 25, and where Hamas are set to make a challenge against Fatah, Abbas' political base.
The interim Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert is now faced with the challenge of how to respond, knowing that extreme measures may draw votes for more extremist representatives in the upcoming Palestinian elections.
Already, some Palestinians seem pleased with today's attack; at a Hamas rally in Ramallah in the West Bank, the news of the attack caused several hundred women to cheer.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at January 19, 2006 11:14 AM
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