At least six die in suicide bomb attack on Israeli mall

A suicide bomber attacked a shopping mall in an Israeli seaside town today, killing himself and at least five other people and wounding at least 40.

Witnesses said the explosion could be heard hundreds of yards away. They said a large cloud of black smoke rose over the area of the blast. Ambulances raced to the scene.

An Israeli police officer said the bomb was detonated by a suicide bomber. Witnesses said he set off explosives he was carrying at the entrance to the Sharon mall near the centre of Netanya.

The town is about six miles from the West Bank and has been the scene of several bomb attacks by Palestinian militants in the past. There were no immediate claims of responsibility.

"I saw a young man who looked like an Arab carrying a huge blue bag and I said, 'Look, that’s a terrorist,'" an eyewitness told Israel radio.

Another witness, named Oranit, told Israel radio that it was a horrible scene. "It was a very big blast and I think that many people were killed," she said.

Witnesses said the bomber tried to get into the mall but was stopped by security guards.

The shopping mall was crowded with shoppers at midday Friday, as people prepared for the Jewish Sabbath. After the explosion, police cleared people out of the mall and closed off the area.

Israeli security forces have been on high alert for possible attacks by Palestinian militants during more than seven months of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Shortly after the fighting erupted, Israel banned Palestinians from entering Israel, as a security measure.

However, Israel’s long border with the West Bank has no fence, and Israeli officials admit that about 20,000 Palestinians cross illegally every day to work in Israel.

Suicide bombers have also crossed, carrying out attacks in cities near the cease-fire line.

In the past Israel’s government has blamed Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Authority for the attacks, though most are attributed to the militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups.

The Israelis charge that Arafat’s forces have freed militants from prison and are not preventing the militant groups from operating.