Two Jewish Settlers Killed, Many Wounded in Dual Attacks

457 0 94
Two separate bomb attacks left at least two Jewish settlers dead and 12 wounded in the first major bomb attacks since Palestinian groups declared a truce six weeks ago, Israeli police said. A police official confirmed a blast in the town of Rosh Ha-Ayin near Tel Aviv was the work of a Palestinian bomber and said two bodies, including the bomber, had been recovered. "At least one Israeli was killed in an explosives attack in Rosh Ha-Ayin," Uri Bar-Lev, local police official, told public radio. Doron Kotler, an official of the Maguen David Adom, the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross, said one of the wounded was in critical condition, four serious and five slightly wounded. In the second attack outside the West Bank Jewish settlement of Ariel, one Israeli was killed and two others wounded. "One Israeli was killed and two others wounded, one of them very seriously, in a car bomb attack at the entrance of Ariel," Mayor Ron Nahman told public television. He had said earlier that the body of the bomber was found near the scene of the blast. The blasts came five days after an Israeli raid on the West Bank town of Nablus that left four Palestinians and an occupation soldier dead. Palestinian Islamic groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad blamed Israel for a breakdown in their truce but did not claim responsibility for the bombings. Hamas spokesman Ismail Haniya said his group was still committed to the truce but added: "The Israeli enemy is responsible for this situation because of their rejection of the ceasefire and their tough position." Islamic Jihad spokesman Mohammad al-Hindi said: "Israel is responsible for the violence. ... They don't respect the ceasefire and they continue their attacks against the Palestinian people since the first day of the ceasefire." **Al-Aqsa Mosque Will*** **be Opened to Tourists*** Visits to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound by the Jews and foreign tourists are to resume early next week, even if the Muslim authority in charge of the site does not agree, an Israeli minister said yesterday. Speaking to MPs, Internal Security Minister Tsahi HaNegbi promised that the compound, would be reopened to tourism early next week, army radio reported. In late July, Israeli police suspended visits to the site by non-Muslims which had resumed several weeks earlier for the first time since the beginning of the Palestinian Intifadha in September 2000. Last week, three right-wing Israeli MPs tried to use their parliamentary privilege to enter the compound but police prevented them from entering. **PHOTO CAPTION*** A security guard keeps watch at the scene of an earlier bomb attack in Tel Aviv. (AFP/File/Yoav Lemmer)

Related Articles