Suicide bomber wounds 20 in Tel Aviv

A SUICIDE bomber blew himself up in a crowded pedestrian mall near Tel Aviv's old central bus station yesterday, and at least 20 people were wounded, police said.

Some reports put the number as high as 30.

The bomber was the only fatality.

A witness, who identified himself only as Itzik, said he was eating at a fast-food stand when he began suspecting the man standing next to him.

"All of a sudden, a policeman came. He pulled him (the suspect) out, and started searching him," he told Israel Radio.

The suspect fled, Itzik said, and five minutes later, the explosion was heard.

The blast came a week before Palestinian parliament elections, and two weeks after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a devastating stroke. Handling the aftermath of the bombing, and deciding on a possible Israeli response will be a key test for Sharon's stand-in, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana urged Israelis and Palestinians not to let the attack derail the Palestinian elections.

Mr Solana said the attack occurred at a moment of great importance "for the future of Palestine, because of elections".

He appealed "to everybody to forget terrorist acts and to give political life a chance. Elections are the only way civilised countries can express themselves".

Medics said one person was seriously wounded, and four were in moderate condition.

The blast went off in an area crowded with shoppers and travellers. The bus station is in a working-class neighbourhood, where many foreign workers live.

Blood, shattered glass and debris covered the ground near shops. The windows of a parked car near the blast were blown out, and helmeted security forces cordoned off the area.

In a videotaped speech, the Islamic Jihad suicide bomber, Sami Antar from the West Bank city of Nablus, said his attack was to avenge "the blood of the martyrs belonging to our Palestinian people".

It was the sixth suicide bombing in Israel since a truce took effect last February. On December 5, a bomber detonated explosives outside a shopping mall in the Israeli coastal town of Netanya, killing five Israelis.