Two Suicide Bombings Rock Israel, Killing 13

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, September 10, 2003

Two Suicide Bombings Rock Israel, Killing 13

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Dozens Wounded in Jerusalem Explosion

A suicide bomber blew himself up at about 11:20 p.m. (2020 GMT) in downtown western Jerusalem Tuesday, killing at least six and wounding some 47 with seven in serious condition, the police at the scene said.

The explosion occurred at the entrance to the Hillel Cafe in the German Colony neighborhood in downtown western Jerusalem. Jerusalem police chief Mickey Levy said that security guards of the coffee shop prevented the suicide bomber from entering the Cafe, thus saving many lives.

This is the second suicide bombing attack in Israel in the past 6 hours. Another blast occurred just before 6 p.m. local time (1500GMT) Tuesday evening at a crowded bus stop in Rishon Letzion, near Tel Aviv in central coastal Israel, killing at least seven and wounding some 15 people, 10 of them seriously.

The military wing of Hamas, Iz a Din al-Kassam, released a leaflet shortly after the Jerusalem bombing, claiming responsibility for both attacks.

Two Suicide Bombings Rock Israel, Killing 13

Israeli security forces have been on high alert after a failed Israeli assassination attempt on the life of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin on Saturday. On Tuesday morning Israel Radio said that the security forces suspected that one or more terrorists may had managed to infiltrate into Israel.

However, Jerusalem police said that the bombers who carried out both the Cafe Hillel and Rishon Letzion attacks were not the men being hunted by security forces.

Israeli officials blamed the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) for the fresh suicide bombing attacks, saying that the attacks were further indication that the PNA is "doing absolutely nothing whatsoever to reign in terrorists or to dismantle the terror infrastructure in their areas."

After the two bombings, Israeli Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon said that Israel would continue to wage its unceasing war on terror and strike its "perpetrators, supporters and leaders."

On late Tuesday night Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and security chiefs were expected to convene a special meeting in Tel Aviv for a situation assessment, and Israeli defense officials indicated that there would be an Israeli retaliation for the bombings.

Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala), who was newly appointed by PNA Chairman Yasser Arafat to be the new Palestinian prime minister, strongly condemned Tuesday's suicide bombing attacks.

In an interview with the local press, Qurei said that "This is very bad ...very bad, we condemn this strongly."

He said such attacks and Israeli counter attacks do not lead anywhere except to more violence, and will complicate his decision whether to take the job of prime minister.

Local observers said that in a crucial time when the Palestinians are making efforts to form a new cabinet and the internationally backed roadmap peace plan is facing a deadly blow by former Palestinian premier Abu Mazen's resignation, Tuesday's two new suicide bombings will largely worsen the situation.

The bombings occurred while Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was away on a visit to India. Israel Radio reported that Sharon has decided to cut short his visit due to the two attacks and will come back to Israel on Wednesday evening.

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