SUICIDE BOMBER - Injures 8 in Haifa, Sharon threatensto step up actions

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07:43 09/12/2001 Last update - 13:46 09/12/2001 Haifa suicide bomber injures 8; PM threatens to step up actions By David Ratner and Haim Shadmi, Ha'aretz Correspondents, Ha'aretz Service and Agencies (Photo: Ha'aretz Service) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon threatened Sunday that Israel might step up military operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in retaliation for a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings.

Speaking to reporters shortly after a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in the northern city of Haifa, Sharon said: "We have not finished our operations. In light of what is happening, we may have to step up our activities."

In an unusual move, Sharon convened his cabinet at army headquarters in the West Bank.

Eight people suffered light-to-moderate injuries when the suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at a hitch-hiking post near the Checkpost Junction in Haifa just after 7:30 A.M. on Sunday.

About twenty others suffered from shock. All of the wounded were all taken to Haifa area hospitals for treatment.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack and promised to arrest and bring to trial those responsible for the attack. It also said that the attack was a result of Israeli aggression.

"We condemn the attack, we will bring to trial those responsible in a Palestinian court," said a senior PA official.

Police were on alert for the possibility that another suicide bomber is in the area. They are also searching for those who helped the attacker get to Haifa.

Northern Police Commander Yaakov Borovsky said that two police officers noticed the suicide bomber in the area prior to the attack. He said that the bomber, who was seriously wounded in the blast, was shot and killed by police who feared that he had another bomb he intended to detonate.

The bomber planned two blasts, according to an Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity. He said the attacker intended to set off a small explosion, drawing rescue workers to the scene, and then detonate a larger bomb. However, police shot him as he was setting off the first bomb, the official said.

Minutes after the blast, flames leaped from the body of the bomber lying on the street just in front of the bus stop, which was only slightly damaged. Israeli firefighters, crouching behind a traffic barrier in the middle of the road, fearing additional blasts, aimed a fire hose at the burning body.

Borovsky also said that the bomber intended to detonate the device at the junction itself where there were more people, but that he was diverted to a nearby side street because of the large police presence there.

"The terrorist looked suspicious and blew himself up when (a police officer) made eye contact, Borovsky said.

A large number of police were deployed in the area because of an alert for a terror attack, he added.

Police and emergency personnel arrived at the scene of the attack and the area is now open to traffic. Sappers found and detonated an additional explosive device that was found in the immediate area of the blast. They are continuing their search and checking for dangerous chemical substances. Israel Radio reported that this was only a precaution and that there was no specific reason to believe that such substances had been used.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 2001

Answers

Dec 9, 2001

After Two Suicide Bombings, Haifa's Arabs and Jews Are Bewildered, Fearful

By Jason Keyser Associated Press Writer

HAIFA, Israel (AP) - As firefighters doused the flames devouring a Palestinian suicide bomber's body Sunday, an Arab taxi driver, a Jewish bystander and a Druze policeman stood over the scorched remains, bewildered.

After two suicide bombings in a week, neighbors in the ethnically mixed northern city of Haifa are concerned their normally placid port town will be torn by the hatreds of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Through the windshield of his taxi, Jamal Awaudi, a 38-year-old Arab, watched in horror as the bomber set off the blast that sent people running through a busy intersection. Eleven people were injured, none seriously.

Arab shop owners ducked for cover. Jews at a bus stop scattered. In front of them, smoke and flame rose from the bomber's crumpled body.

"We were all standing over his body, an Arab, Jew and Druze," Awaudi said.

The odd moment was shared by the Druze highway policeman, Raik Kaouf, whose religion is an offshoot of Islam. "We are all together. We are praying all the time that the peace can be alive here. It's a good city and good people."

But after two bombings, fears are growing.

A week earlier, another suicide bomber blew himself up on a city bus, killing 15 people. Arab and Jewish residents of the mixed neighborhood brought water for the wounded and help them into ambulances.

Malcha Vizel, a 45-year-old Jewish shopkeeper, said she heard of one Arab who visited a Jewish woman injured in the first attack, bringing flowers to her hospital room. But friends also told her that some Arabs cheered and clapped on a hillside above the splintered bus.

"I'm very afraid, very worried, very angry," Vizel said. "You always look. You don't have trust for anyone. ... I'm afraid we will be in a war."

She said her Arab friends are also afraid: "They are also living and working here. They have children in school here."

At the Arab-owned snack stand beside the scene of the bombing, Jamal Hussein, 20, put on plastic gloves and helped his brother throw out sandwiches, doughnuts and bags of chips flecked with blood and debris.

Hussein, who lives in Nazareth but commutes to study industrial engineering, said he feels comfortable amid Haifa's diversity.

He wondered why a Palestinian would blow himself up here. "It's strange," he said.

After a pause he added, "I think if there will be peace ... and a country for Palestinians, there will not be another man like this."

AP-ES-12-09-01 1532EST

This story can be found at : http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAWIOHB1VC.html

-- Anonymous, December 09, 2001


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