Five die in Israel suicide bombing

A PALESTINIAN suicide bomber standing in line at a crowded falafel stand blew himself up yesterday in the central Israeli town of Hadera.

At least five people were killed, with 21 injured. The incident eroded hopes that Israel’s Gaza pullout would revive peace talks.

In a phone call to The Associated Press, the Islamic Jihad militant group claimed responsibility for the bombing in Hadera, saying it was to avenge the killing of Luay Saadi, leader of the group’s military wing in the West Bank.

Saadi was killed in a shoot-out with Israeli soldiers closing in on his hideout in the Tulkarem refugee camp on Monday.

Yesterday also marked the 10th anniversary of the assassination of Islamic Jihad chief Fathi Shekaki outside a Malta hotel in a mission widely attributed to Israel.

“Body parts reached all the way until my apartment building. The damage is really great,” witness Eidan Akiva said. “All the stalls alongside just fell apart. The windows are all broken. It looks like a war was here.”

Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last month has raised hopes for a return to Mideast peacemaking after five years of bloodshed.

However, the sides have failed to capitalise on the pullout’s momentum, and Wednesday’s bombing appeared to hurt prospects for a return to talks.

“This is another link in the murderous chain of terrorism served up by the Palestinian Authority, which continues to do nothing to stop these terror attacks,” said Israeli government spokesperson David Baker.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat denounced the bombing.

“We condemn this attack in Hadera, as we’ve always condemned suicide attacks on Israeli civilians, and we hope that we will not allow this attack or any attack to undermine the cessation of violence between the two sides,” he said.

Palestinian militant groups agreed to a ceasefire last March. Since then, the level of violence has dropped sharply despite periodic flare-ups.

Islamic Jihad has been blamed for each of the four suicide bombings since the ceasefire.

Hadera, located between Tel Aviv and the northern city of Haifa, is flanked to the east by Israel’s West Bank separation barrier, which is designed to keep out suicide bombers. It was not immediately clear how the assailants got around it.

Reacting to the bombing, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mark Regev referred to statements from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling for Israel to be “wiped off the map” and from a Hamas leader in Gaza reiterating that group’s commitment to violent struggle.

“Today, Israelis heard two extremists speak openly about destroying the Jewish state... It appears the problem with these extremists is that they followed through on their violent declarations with violent actions,” Mr Regev said.