Suicide bomber, dies as bomb explodes in cafe

A PALESTINIAN suicide bomber blew himself up yesterday in a Jerusalem cafe popular with police, in juring four Israelis but killing only himself, officers said.

Elsewhere, gunmen killed two Israeli settlers who had travelled to a Palestinian village in the West Bank on business.

In the Jerusalem attack, the bomber entered the Yemenite falafel cafe on a busy street in the city centre. Then he detonated his explosives, apparently prematurely, said Jerusalem police chief Mickey Levy.

It was the first suicide bombing in Jerusalem since a pair of attacks last month killed 26 Israelis and prompted Israel to reoccupy seven of the eight major Palestinian towns in the West Bank.

Mr Levy said the bomber was a 17-year-old from Bethlehem in the West Bank.

The blast occurred in one of the most heavily guarded areas of Jerusalem Hanevi’im (Prophet) Street. There have been at least eight bombing and shooting attacks in the area in the past 22 months of fighting.

Glass shards littered the street in front of the cafe after the attack. Sergeant Ofir Yona was on patrol about 20 yards from the cafe and saw the bomber enter, carrying a black bag.

“He didn’t look suspicious,” Sgt Yona said. “He was cleanly shaven. He had his hair gelled back. He noticed us and then he entered the shop.”

Israel has blamed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for attacks on its civilians, saying the Palestinian Authority has done nothing to stop the militants.

The Palestinians argue that Israel’s military assaults on its cities and security forces have left them with little ability to prevent attacks.

Meanwhile, masked Palestinian gunmen hiding behind olive trees shot dead two Israeli settlers who had gone to a Palestinian village in the West Bank on business, witnesses and the army said.

Settlers said the two brothers, from the Jewish settlement of Tapuach, had gone to Jammaien village near Nablus to sell petrol. The area is under Israeli security control.

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, linked to Arafat’s Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the shooting. The army said troops were hunting for the gunmen.

Earlier yesterday, a Jewish settler and his wife were seriously injured by a knife-wielding Palestinian who broke into their home in the Jewish settle ment of Itamar, near Nablus.

Security guards at the settlement killed the infiltrator.

And further north, gunmen opened fire on a car as it drove through Jenin, badly wounding the brother of a well-known Hamas activist.

Hamas accused Israel of carrying out the drive-by shooting and said it was part of efforts to punish militants’ families. The army said it did not know about the incident.