Israel shells Palestinian posts after suicide bomb

Israel has hit back after the suicide bomb that killed two Israeli soldiers, shelling Palestinian posts and further undermining the US-sponsored ceasefire.

The bomber set off explosives strapped to his waist at a bus stop yesterday, across the street from the train station in Binyamina, a village in northern Israel.

The blast killed the bomber and a female soldier on the spot. Another soldier died later in a hospital. Three other Israelis were seriously wounded.

The militant Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, identifying the bomber as Nidal Shadouf, 21, from the village of Burkin, near the town of Jenin. A relative said Shadouf was a supporter of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah group.

Israel’s response came a few hours later when Israeli tanks shelled Palestinian police posts in two West Bank towns, Jenin and Tulkarem. One of the shells hit a power transformer in Tulkarem, causing a blackout, witnesses said.

It was the first suicide bomb blast since a truce was worked out last month by CIA director George Tenet. With incidents of violence escalating, the ceasefire appeared to be over, though each side claimed that the other was responsible for the violations.

In Washington, the State Department issued a statement condemning the suicide bomb attack and calling for restraint by all parties.

Last week Israeli police foiled a suicide bomb attack in Afula, just north of the West Bank, when detectives ambushed a suspicious Palestinian, who tried to detonate the bomb he was carrying, but failed.

Police said they had intelligence warnings about possible bomb attacks at train stations. The bomber apparently timed his attack yesterday to coincide with the arrival of two passenger trains, but police said he was unable to enter the station because of the increased security presence.

Asher Ben-David, who was among the wounded, said he saw the bomber approaching. "Then he pushed a button and he just exploded," he told reporters from his hospital bed.