Islamic Jihad behind Haifa blast

A young Palestinian woman blew herself up in a crowded beachfront restaurant today, killing herself and at least 19 bystanders, including three children.

The Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility for the attack in the Israeli port city of Haifa. They said the bomber was 20-year-old Hanadi Jaradat from the West Bank town of Jenin.

The blast at the Maxim Restaurant in Haifa wounded another 55 people.

It was one of the deadliest attacks in the past three years and prompted new calls for Yasser Arafat’s expulsion.