Suicide bomber's 'deadly gift to Palestinians'

A Palestinian blew himself up outside a packed cafe in northern Israel today, wounding 30 bystanders in what the Islamic Jihad group called “Palestine’s gift to the heroic people of Iraq”.

The blast increased Israeli fears of a new wave of bombings as the war in Iraq intensifies.

The militant group also said a vanguard of Palestinians has arrived from Arab countries in Baghdad, ready to kill American and British soldiers in suicide missions.

The claim came a day after a non-commissioned Iraqi army officer driving a taxi detonated explosives at a checkpoint, killing himself and four American soldiers.

The Netanya blast, the first suicide bombing in Israel in nearly a month, went off about 10am Irish time outside the popular Cafe London on the downtown pedestrian mall, a block from the Mediterranean.

An Israeli soldier standing near the entrance stopped the attacker from entering the cafe’s indoor section and was seriously wounded, police said. Panicked customers ran, overturning chairs and tables and shouting, “terrorist, terrorist”.

Islamic Jihad identified the bomber as Rami Ghanem, 19, from a West Bank village just across the line with Israel.

The bombing affirmed “the unity of battle from Palestine to Baghdad in confronting the American-Zionist invasion which targets the entire Arab and Islamic nation,” the group said in a statement.

Islamic Jihad’s sister group, Hamas, also appeared to be linking the battle against Israel with the fighting in Iraq.

In a pro-Iraq march by 1,500 university students in the West Bank city of Nablus today, masked Hamas activists posed before a large placard showing bloodied maps of Palestine and Iraq with a black-clad man strapped with explosives standing between them.

At the same time, however, Hamas leaders met in Gaza City with Mahmoud Abbas, chosen by Yasser Arafat as the first Palestinian prime minister. Hamas opposes peace talks with Israel.

Earlier, Hamas leaders criticised the appointment of Abbas and said Hamas would not take part in his government.

Abbas is in Gaza as part of his effort to form a new Cabinet. Aides said he might extend his visit there for another two days. Abbas also met with representatives of the militant Popular Front group and the Iraq-backed Arab Liberation Front.

The militants’ support for Iraq appeared be a departure from declared policy not to get involved in other conflicts. In the past 30 months of fighting with Israel, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have sent dozens of young men and a few women into Israeli cities, where they’ve killed hundreds with bombs and bullets.

Today’s attack came on a clear, crisp day on Israel’s coast and a breeze cooled those who sat at Cafe London’s sidewalk tables.

During the lunchtime rush, the bomber detonated between 4.4lbs to 6.6lbs of nail-studded explosives next to the cafe. The army said 10 soldiers were among the wounded.

“There were pieces of bodies,” said a shaken Alberto Sciunnach, 37, who owns an Italian ice cream parlour on the strip. A wounded teenage girl trying to flee collapsed in front of his shop, he said.

Israeli officials have warned that Palestinians could step up attacks during the US-led offensive in Iraq.

“The (Palestinian) motivation to harm Israel and to help the Iraqi struggle is well known to us and it comes across in all the intelligence reports,” said Israel’s internal security minister, Tzachi Hanegbi.

Hoping to show he’s still active and influential in the Arab world despite a war to topple him, Saddam Hussein has stepped up distribution of money to the families of Palestinians – including suicide bombers – who die in fighting with Israel.

A tiny pro-Iraqi faction in the West Bank and Gaza has doled out more than 35 million US dollars in Iraqi money to families over the last 30 months.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have taken to the streets in recent days to show support for Iraq and call on Saddam’s forces to fire Scud missiles at Israel, hit by 39 Iraqi rockets in the 1991 Gulf War.

Today’s blast was the first suicide bombing since March 5 when 17 Israelis were killed in a bus blast in the northern port city of Haifa.

Today also marked Land Day, an annual day of marches and protests by Israel’s Arab citizens against land confiscation.

Netanya, in northern Israel, has been a frequent target, in part because of its proximity to the West Bank. In the deadliest bombing since the outbreak of fighting, a Hamas bomber attacked the Park Hotel in Netanya during the Passover holiday a year ago, killing 29 people participating in a holiday meal.

In other violence, an army patrol in the Gaza strip shot and killed a Palestinian who was among a group that tried to flee when they were spotted in an off-limits area.