Suicide bombers wreaking havoc with aid of impenetrable disguises

SOME bleach their hair. Some dress as women or soldiers. Others cloak themselves in black coats and hats to blend into the crowds of Jerusalem’s Orthodox Jews.

Looking like Israelis, many suicide bombers have simply slipped past police and guards and blown themselves up, wreaking instant death and panic. The 18-year-old Palestinian who blew up a bus in the heart of Jerusalem on Wednesday wore the black garb of an ultra-Orthodox Jew.

He probably raised no suspicions at all before he detonated the explosives hidden under his clothes despite security services being on high alert.

Shopkeeper Shai Yakob, 31, has seen seven bombings from his store on Jaffa Street where yesterday's attack took place. "This terrorist was wearing the clothes of an Orthodox Jew," he said, still shaken several hours later.

"Thousands of Orthodox Jews pass my shop in one minute. All the people I see here every day, I don't know who is the terrorist," he said.

Jerusalem is especially vulnerable. It is a mix of sects and clans and walks of life, a colourful fabric in which bombers find easy camouflage. About a third of Jerusalem's more than 600,000 residents are Arabs. Another 200,000 are ultra-Orthodox Jews, who wear long black coats and hats are a familiar sight.

"We have seen them dressed as soldiers, a punk who dyed his hair white, one at a mall who dressed as a woman, and they also use women bombers," said police spokesman Gil Kleiman.

"It is very difficult," he said. "Even if we have an 80% success rate, one suicide bomber getting through can cause such devastation," he said.

Jaffa Street has lured many attackers. It is crowded with shoppers, tourists, beggars and musicians. Besides Wednesday's blast, five other suicide bombers have hit the same bustling three blocks of Jaffa Street in nearly three years of fighting, killing 33 people.

One rescue worker at the scene of yesterday's attack said he had had enough. "It is very hard to see the same pictures, the same problems," he said. "This is enough. It must end."