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View Full Version : Report: 18 Die in Israel Suicide Blast



Seraphim
10-04-2003, 10:39 AM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031004/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_explosion&cid=540&ncid=716


JERUSALEM - A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded beach restaurant in the Israeli port city of Haifa on Saturday. A television report said 18 people were killed, including five children. Police said about two dozen people were wounded as well.



The attack came on the Sabbath before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement. It was the first suicide bombing in a month and the first since a threat by Israel to expel Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites).


Police said a gunman was also involved in Saturday's attack at the popular Maxim restaurant on Haifa's beach promenade. On Saturdays, the promenade is packed with people.


Police said the blast was set off by a suicide bomber, who had explosives strapped to his body. Police said 10 people were killed and about two dozen more were wounded, but a television report put the toll at 18.


There was no immediate claim of responsibility.


The attack came despite a blanket closure Israel had imposed on the West Bank and Gaza Strip (news - web sites) ahead of Yom Kippur, which begins at sundown Sunday and ends at sundown Monday. Such closures are generally imposed during Jewish holidays because of increased concerns about attacks by Palestinian militants in such periods.


Since fighting broke out three years ago, more than 400 Israelis have been killed in 103 Palestinian suicide bombings.


The Haifa blast was the first since twin attacks on Sept. 9 that killed 15 people near an army base outside Tel Aviv and at a Jerusalem coffee shop. After that attack, the Israeli Cabinet approved the "removal" of Arafat, but did not say when it would take action. It is widely believed that a major attack with many casualties could trigger Israeli measures against Arafat.


The Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) had no immediate comment.


David Baker, an official in Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites)'s office, said Israel demands that the Palestinian Authority take immediate steps against militant groups.


"The bombing in Haifa is another indication that the Palestinian Authority continues to refuse to take even minimal steps against the terrorist infrastructure," he said.







http://www.msnbc.com/news/801833.asp?vts=100420030642



18 reported killed in Israel blast

Palestinian suicide bomber attacks crowded Haifa restaurant

BREAKING NEWS
MSNBC NEWS SERVICES

JERUSALEM, Oct 4 — A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded beach restaurant in the Israeli port city of Haifa on Saturday. A television report said 18 people were killed, including five children


POLICE SAID A gunman was also involved in the attack, but the circumstances were not immediately clear.
The attack targeted the popular Maxim restaurant on Haifa’s beach promenade on the southern edge of the city. On Saturdays, the promenade is packed with people.
Police said the blast was set off by a suicide bomber, who had explosives strapped to his body. Police said 10 people were killed
and about two dozen more were wounded, but a television report put the toll at 18, including five children.
The attack came despite a blanket closure Israel had imposed on the West Bank and Gaza Strip ahead of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement, which begins at sundown Sunday and ends at sundown Monday. Such closures are generally imposed during Jewish holidays because of increased concerns about attacks by Palestinian militants in such periods.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday’s attack, the first suicide bombing since twin attacks killed 15 people on September 9, near an army base outside Tel Aviv and at a Jerusalem coffee shop. Since fighting broke out three years ago, more than 400 Israelis have been killed in 103 Palestinian suicide bombings.



After the Sept. 9 bombings, Israel threatened to “remove” Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, either through expulsion or assassination, but did not say when it would take action. It is widely believed that a major attack with many casualties could trigger Israeli measures against Arafat.
The Palestinian Authority had no immediate comment. David Baker, an official in Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office, said Israel demands that the Palestinian Authority take immediate steps against militant groups.
“The bombing in Haifa is another indication that the Palestinian Authority continues to refuse to take even minimal steps against the terrorist infrastructure,” he said.


OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:




Israeli troops hunting fugitives on Friday fired at a West Bank coffee shop, wounding three men and arresting more than a dozen but failing to catch suspects, Palestinian officials said.
About 3,000 Hamas supporters marched through the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza Friday vowing to continue the 3-year-old uprising for statehood. One said through a loudspeaker that attacks would “burn the ground under the Zionists’ feet.”
Islamic militant group Hamas said Friday the barrier Israel is building within the West Bank would not prevent attacks on Israelis and doomed the U.S.-backed peace “road map” to failure.
Arafat appealed on Thursday to the “Quartet” of Middle East peacemakers — the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations — to stop the barrier being built. The road map the Quartet devised has bogged down, with each side saying the other should take the next step to implement it.
A senior Palestinian official said Friday Arafat has agreed to relinquish some control over security forces and boost the authority of Qureia’s designated interior minister, Gen. Nasser Yousef. Such a step would be in line with long-standing Israeli and U.S. demands that the Palestinians unite security forces under one command.
In a rare indictment, an Israeli army officer has been charged with killing four Palestinians, including three children, by ordering his soldiers to fire tank shells to enforce a curfew last year. The officer ordered tank crews to fire to force Palestinians off the streets of the northern West Bank town of Jenin in June 2002, according to a report in Bamahane, a weekly army publication. The report did not give the exact charges of the indictment.

ArmoredDov_D9
10-04-2003, 11:16 AM
About 19 innocent people were brutaly murdered by a Palestinian suicide bomber terrorist. I don't have the words to express how I feel. :(

May all the victims will rest in peace and all those who helped to commit this massacre will meet their judgement...

Argyll
10-04-2003, 11:29 AM
Sheer and utter madness!
To all the Israelis who have come here,my condolences,and stay safe!

ArmoredDov_D9
10-04-2003, 11:51 AM
Pictures from the scene of massacre:

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20031004/i/r3322949603.jpg


Israeli policemen stand outside a destroyed restaurant after an explosion in Haifa, October 4, 2003. A Palestinian suicide bomber blew up in a crowded Israeli beach restaurant in the northern city of Haifa on Saturday, killing at least 18 people and wounding dozens, rescue workers and police said. Photo by Nir Elias/*******

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20031004/i/r2364794024.jpg


An Israeli policeman takes a pictures of a destroyed restaurant after an explosion in Haifa, October 4, 2003. A Palestinian suicide bomber blew up in a crowded Israeli beach restaurant in the northern city of Haifa on Saturday, killing at least 18 people and wounding dozens, rescue workers and police said. *******/Nir Elias

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/mideast_dc

Update: 19 people were murdered, including 5 children and a 2-months old baby...

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20031004/i/r473728946.jpg


A wounded Israeli woman is helped by a policeman following an explosion at a restaurant in Haifa, October 4, 2003. A Palestinian suicide bomber blew up in a crowded beach restaurant in the northern Israeli city of Haifa on Saturday, killing at least 17 people including three children and wounding dozens, police said. ISRAEL OUT *******/Ranan Cohen

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20031004/capt.jrl10810041311.mideast_israel_palestinians_jrl108.jpg


Israeli forensics experts work at the scene of a suicide bombing in the northern Israeli city of Haifa Saturday Oct. 4, 2003. A Palestinian woman blew herself up in the Arab-owned Maxim beach restaurant Saturday, killing at least 19 people, including three children, and wounding about 40 in one of the deadliest attacks in the past three years and raising the possibility Israel might take action against Yasser Arafat (news - web sites). (AP Photo/ Eitan Hess Ashkenazi)

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20031004/i/r3199694021.jpg


A wounded Israeli man walks away from a Haifa seaside restaurant after an explosion, October 4, 2003. A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded restaurant in the northern city of Haifa on Saturday, killing at least 17 people including three children and wounding dozens, police said. ISRAEL OUT *******/Ranan Cohen

Warning! Graphic content!

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20031004/capt.jrl10710041253.mideast_israel_palestinians_jrl107.jpg


The body of an unidentified victim is covered with a body-bag next to the scene of a suicide bombing in the northern Israeli city of Haifa Saturday Oct. 4, 2003. A Palestinian woman blew herself up in the Arab-owned Maxim beach restaurant Saturday, killing at least 19 people, including three children, and wounding about 40 in one of the deadliest attacks in the past three years and raising the possibility Israel might take action against Yasser Arafat (news - web sites). (AP Photo/ Eitan Hess Ashkenazi)

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20031004/capt.jrl10510041206.mideast_israel_palestinians_jrl105.jpg


Medics rush a wounded youth away from the site of a suicide bombing in a restaurant in the northern Israeli city of Haifa Saturday Oct. 4, 2003. A Palestinian suicide bomber blew herself up in the Arab-owned Maxim beach restaurant Saturday, killing at least 19 people and wounding about 40 in one of the deadliest attacks in the past three years and raising the possibility Israel might take action against Yasser Arafat (news - web sites). (AP Photo/Alon Israel)