Israel's security cabinet decided on Monday night to launch
"a major operation in Judea, Samaria and Gaza" against the
Islamic Jihad terror organization. The Palestinian Authority
will also be punished by the cancellation of the VIP status
granted leading officials which enables them to travel on
roads generally closed to Palestinians. Israel also opted to
delay the opening of the safe passage route that would have
connected the Gaza Strip to the West Bank.
The moves were taken in response to a suicide bomb attack
that murdered five in Netanya on Monday that wounded at least
60. Military sources said the operation was liable to last
"several weeks or even a month." Overnight Monday the IDF
arrested the brother and father of the suicide bomber. The
two were caught in the West Bank village of Illar, along with
another six fugitives.
Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad claimed the attack in a
telephone call to the Hizbullah-run Lebanese TV station, al-
Manar. Islamic Jihad has also been responsible for the last
five suicide bombings, and Israeli officials said that it is
also behind the firing of Kassam rockets from Gaza. This
year, there have been three suicide bombings in which
Israelis were killed, all of which were claimed by Islamic
Jihad.
Chaim Amram, 26, from Netanya, a security guard at the mall;
Alexandra Zarnitzki, 65, from Netanya; Daniel Golani, 45,
from Nahariya; Eliyah Rozen, 38, from Bat Hefer; and Keinan
Tsuami, 20, from Petach Tikva died in the blast. It was the
third suicide bombing outside the mall in four years.
Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, condemned the
attack and pushed for PA and regional action against the
perpetrators. The US, UN and UK, which holds the rotating
European Union presidency, also issued sharp denunciations of
the attack. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas also condemned the
terrorist attack and vowed a crackdown on Islamic Jihad in
the West Bank.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz accused the PA of failing to
rein in the group and said Israel would do everything in its
power to eradicate the terrorists. Israel announced that it
would resume targeted killings and Mofaz is also pushing to
allow house demolitions.
"This is a necessary step, so that everyone who even
considers committing suicide knows there is a price for
that," Mofaz said. From the summer of 2002 to the summer of
2004, the IDF demolished 270 homes of families of terrorists,
mostly in the West Bank.
Had it not been the courage of two security guards and two
police officers, it would have been "a much more deadly
bombing," said police Insp.-Gen. Moshe Karadi. Karadi said
that there had been no specific warnings about the
bombing.
Shortly before noon, bystanders alerted guards outside the
mall to a "suspicious" man trying to enter. Alert bystanders
called attention to the bomber, later identified as Lotfi Abu
Saada, 21, from the village of Illar, near Tulkarm. A video
released by Islamic Jihad showed the bomber posing with a
grenade launcher and an assault rifle.
Policewoman Shoshi Attiya began screaming, "He's a terrorist,
stop him!" Two guards at the mall's entrance, Chaim Amram,
26, and Tanya Korliov, rushed to apprehend the man, who
calmly walked away from them and the entrance. Another
policeman rushed to the scene, but when Amram moved to
inspect the Abu Saada's shoulder bag, he detonated it.
The force of the blast punched holes in the granite facade of
the mall. The blast blew plate glass from the mall's upper
stories 30 meters across Rechov Herzl and onto the Netanya
Magistrate's Court plaza across the street. Most of the
wounded received first aid within four minutes of the
bombing, according to Magen David Adom spokesman Yeruchom
Mendola.
Police raised the level of alert following the attack and
cast a wide net the hopes of apprehending the bomber's driver
or other terrorists involved.
Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra defended the security
barrier, saying that to date no terrorist has penetrated it.
However Israeli and Palestinian accomplices have smuggled
bombers into Israel through crossing terminals and he said
that they should be dealt with severely.
The attack was the first suicide bombing in Israel since
October 26, when a bomber killed six people in Hadera, just
north of Netanya.
Troops in the West Bank will carry out targeted killings and
will widen arrest operations aimed at Palestinian militant
organizations, focusing on Islamic Jihad operatives. A
military closure has been placed on West Bank villages and
security inspections at crossings between Israel and the West
Bank will be tightened.
The Gaza Strip's border crossings have also been sealed to
pedestrian traffic but the Karni commercial crossing between
Gaza and Israel will remain open.
The IDF's operations are aimed at creating "continuous
pressure" on locations where Islamic Jihad operates. In the
past few months at least 10 Islamic Jihad terrorists have
been killed and scores arrested. Islamic Jihad, which is
directed from Damascus and influenced by Iran, is not
participating in the PA elections and has never adhered to
any cease-fire, as have Fatah and Hamas.
In other news, SELA Disengagement Authority Director Yonatan
Bassi said that construction work at Yad Binyamin has been
completed and that approximately 1,600 people are being
absorbed there. The following were constructed at Yad
Binyamin: Four kindergartens, two day-care centers, two
synagogues, a club, a community center, eight school
classrooms and offices for services to residents.
Approximately 250 families from Ganei Tal, Neveh Dekalim,
Gedid, Gan Or, Atzmona, Tel Katifa and Netzarim have arrived
at Yad Binyamin.
The government also approved the establishment of a temporary
residential site at kibbutz Ein Tzurim, which is expected to
absorb approximately 85 families from the evacuated
communities of Netzer Hazani, Neveh Dekalim and Gedid.
