Israel says catastrophe is averted as police detonate 1,300 pound bomb

POLICE detonated a 1,300 pound car bomb yesterday, one of the largest ever discovered, and Israel’s foreign minister said it averted a catastrophe that could have changed the face of the Middle East.

In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians carried out twin attacks on Israeli troops. A bomb blew up under an Israeli tank, killing one soldier and wounding three. The blast tore off the turret, pinning down the soldiers for several hours and complicating rescue efforts.

Elsewhere in Gaza, a gunman fired on an army patrol, killing an officer and wounding a soldier. Soldiers shot and killed the gunman. Militia-men linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement claimed responsibility for both attacks.

Israel is bracing for a possible new wave of attacks by Palestinian militants during the Jewish New Year’s holiday, which begins at sundown today. Israeli-Palestinian fighting erupted during the New Year’s holiday two years ago.

Near the northern Israeli town of Hadera, police chased two suspicious cars early yesterday and discovered that one, a pickup truck, was rigged with 1,300 pounds of explosives, as well as two barrels with fuel and metal fragments. A cell phone, which was to have set off the charge, was attached.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said the discovery of the bomb was a “miracle”. Police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had averted a so-called “mega attack”.

Had the bomb gone off, Peres said, “it would have cost such loss of life that it would have changed almost the entire political situation in one moment”.

The incident began when volunteers serving with the police spotted two vehicles speeding on a winding dirt road leading from the West Bank into Israel. The volunteers gave chase and the drivers abandoned the cars and got away on foot.

The bomb squad detonated the charge, destroying the car. The second vehicle apparently was to have served as a getaway car. Police using tracker dogs and helicopters were searching for the drivers.

Israel traditionally tightens security during Jewish holidays. The deadliest Palestinian attack in two years came on the eve of the Passover holiday in March when a suicide bomber killed 29 guests in a hotel banquet hall.

In a Tel Aviv court, meanwhile, Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouti went on trial on charges he helped orchestrate 37 attacks that killed 26 Israelis in the past two years. Barghouti, wearing a dark brown prison uniform, told the three-judge panel that he does not recognise the court’s right to try him.

“The one who should be sitting here (as a defendant) is the government of Israel,” Barghouti said in fluent Hebrew. He has said he hoped to turn the trial into a showcase for what he said were the crimes of Israeli occupation. He has denied the accusations, saying he is a political leader.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, meanwhile, said in a series of holiday interviews that for the first time since September 2000, he sees hope for a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Sharon has ruled out talks with Arafat, charging he has encouraged militants to attack Israel. However, Sharon said he could talk to “Palestinians who have reached the conclusion that by terrorism nothing can be achieved”. He said discreet contacts with Palestinians are continuing.