GAZA CITY, 6 December 2005 — A Palestinian blew himself up outside a shopping mall in the central Israeli town of Netanya yesterday, killing at least five people and injuring over 30. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned it as a terrorist attack.
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz vowed to launch a military response to the attack. Security sources said it would include assassinations of Islamic Jihad leaders, army raids in the West Bank and tightened restrictions on Palestinian movement in the occupied territory.
The bombing escalated already heightened tensions between Israel and the Palestinians — marked by recent airstrikes and rocket attacks — ahead of upcoming elections on both sides. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will discuss a response this morning with his Security Cabinet.
“There was a boom and there was a flash. Seconds later, people were lying on the ground, some wounded, some dead,” witness Yisrael Klein told Channel Two television. “The most horrific sight was the severed head of the terrorist.” The force of the blast splattered blood high on the stone and glass facade of the mall.
Islamic Jihad said the bombing was to avenge “crimes by the occupation.” The group identified the bomber as Lutfi Abu Sa’da, from a village near Tulkarm in the West Bank, and said he was the cousin of an Islamic Jihad leader wanted by Israel.
The 21-year-old Palestinian carrying a bag was challenged by police when he tried to enter the mall. “He looked at me and smiled, a very frozen smile, and exploded,” policeman Shuki Golan told Israel Radio.
Mofaz, speaking on Israeli radio, also said he was seeking approval to resume a policy of demolishing the homes of bombers that Israel had suspended after the start of the truce. “We will do everything we can so that attacks like these will not occur in the future,” Mofaz said.
President Abbas’ office said he had “issued firm instructions to arrest those involved.”
“The grave attack in Netanya is more proof of the ineffectiveness of the Palestinian Authority under the leadership of Abu Mazen,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, referring to Abbas. “Israel will act against the terror organizations with all its might and all the means at its disposal. Israel’s response will be hard and painful.”
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw condemned the “cowardly attack” on behalf of the European Union and called on the Palestinian Authority to arrest those responsible.
— Additional input from agencies
