Three killed as suicide derails Mideast peace plan

A SUICIDE attacker detonated explosives at the entrance to a crowded mall in northern Israel yesterday, killing at least three shoppers and wounding 47, the latest in a series of bombings that have derailed US peace efforts.

The attack in the town of Afula was the fifth suicide bombing within 48 hours, following blasts in Gaza, Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The spate of bombings underscored how difficult it will be to carry out the US-backed “road map” plan, a three-stage prescription for ending violence immediately and setting up a Palestinian state by 2005.

In Washington, US President George W Bush said the string of attacks were aimed at stopping the peace process, but insisted “the road map still stands.” He called it “sad and pathetic” that some “cannot stand the thought of peace.”

“We’re still on the road to peace, it’s just going to be a bumpy road, and I'm not going to get off the road until we reach the vision,” he told a news conference. Mr Bush called on Israelis and Palestinians to fight terrorism, and on Arab nations to cut off funding to militant groups.

There were conflicting claims of responsibility over the Afula attack, from both Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. The larger Hamas group said it carried out four attacks at the weekend that killed 13 people, four of them bombers, and it made clear it would not halt the violence.

“As long as the occupation remains on our land and as long as the occupation soldiers are breathing our air we will continue our resistance,” Hamas spokesman Abdel Aziz Rantisi said.

The explosion, the 95th suicide attack in 32 months of fighting, went off at 5:14pm local time at the entrance to the Shaarei Amakim mall in Afula, reportedly as shoppers were waiting in line for a security check.

Malls and other public places have significantly stepped up security since the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in September 2000.

The bomber detonated explosives after being asked to undergo the check, said regional police commander Yaakov Borovsky.

The explosion killed the attacker and three shoppers, Mr Borovsky said. Forty-seven people were wounded, including 13 who were in serious condition.

Afula has been targeted repeatedly by Palestinian militants because of its proximity to the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the bombing. The Palestinians reject such attacks “because they harm us politically and morally and don’t represent the Palestinian position,” said Labour Minister Ghassan Khatib.

In a telephone interview, an Islamic Jihad leader in the West Bank town of Jenin claimed responsibility for the attack. Later, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades claimed responsibility, saying it had video footage of the bomber, whom it identified as a woman, Heba Daraghmeh, 19, from the West Bank village of Tubas.

Earlier yesterday, a 19-year-old Palestinian riding a bicycle detonated a 66-pound bomb near a military jeep in the Gaza Strip, wounding three soldiers and killing himself.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government blames Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for the attacks, deciding on Sunday to further isolate him by

refusing to meet any foreign diplomat who meets Mr Arafat. “Neutralising Mr Arafat is something that has to be taken into consideration and given lots of thought,” said Sharon adviser Raanan Gissin. He said the Palestinians must “do whatever they can to neutralise this chairman Arafat, who has become the big spoiler of any effort to bring peace.”

The Israelis and Palestinians have differed sharply over how to rein in militants and halt violence, which has held up implementation of the US peace plan.