Israel’s response to bombings is muted

ISRAEL yesterday barred a Palestinian delegation from attending a mid-east conference in London and closes three Palestinian universities — a muted response to the deadliest suicide attack in nearly a year.

Bombings on the scale of the twin blasts in Tel Aviv on Sunday 22 killed and more than 100 wounded in the past triggered major Israeli military offensives.

But Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's repertoire of retaliation is increasingly limited, with Israel's general election only three weeks away and the US eager to keep a lid on mid-east violence ahead of a possible strike against Iraq.

An offshoot of a militia linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombings, prompting new Israeli accusations that the Palestinian leader encourages and even orders attacks on Israelis.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the bombings and denied any involvement, while Fatah tried to distance itself from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a militia with ties to the bombers.

A spokesperson for the Al Aqsa offshoot responsible for the blasts said his group has been receiving money from Iran and would not heed demands by Palestinian Interior Minister Hani al-Hassan to stop attacks in Israel.

Israel's security cabinet, which met early yesterday, did not order Arafat's expulsion, seeking to avoid friction with Washington ahead of a possible US-Iraq war.

However, finance minister Silvan Shalom, a member of the security cabinet, said he expected Arafat will eventually be ousted from the West Bank.

"For the time being ... we have to get through the Iraq crisis and after that maybe to get to more far-reaching steps," Shalom said on Israel TV.

The bombers, aged 19 and 20, blew themselves up in an area of Tel Aviv crowded with foreign workers. The explosions ripped through a Chinese restaurant, a pub and shops.

Among the dead were at least 11 Israelis and six foreign workers, including citizens of Romania, Bulgaria and Ghana.

Five bodies were still not identified yesterday. It was the deadliest bombing since March when 29 hotel guests were killed in an attack on the eve of the Jewish Passover holiday.

The Passover attack led to a major Israeli military offensive, "Defensive Shield," in which Israel reoccupied West Bank towns, rounded up thousands of Palestinians and laid siege to Arafat's headquarters for 34 days.

In response to the Tel Aviv bombings, Israel barred a Palestinian delegation from leaving for a London conference that was to be held on January 13 and 14 to discuss a possible truce and Palestinian reform. Foreign ministers of Britain, Greece, Jordan, Saudi Arabia were to have attended, while Israel was not invited.