Suicide bombing outside Netanya mall kills 5
Arieh O'Sullivan, Hilary Leila Krieger and JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM
POST Dec. 5, 2005
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1132475685417&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[IMRA: Israel Radio correspondents noted that it is expected that the bomber
made his way to the mall through a crossing point in the separation fence.
It should be noted that while some separation fence advocates genuinely
believed that the fence would stop terror attacks that many of its
supporters see the fence more as a device to ultimately bring about Israeli
retreats in the West Bank while bypassing the need for public debate before
the retreat lines are set. The fence hasn't stopped terror - Israeli
security operations inside the West Bank have - operations that won't be
possible after the retreat expected after the elections.]

Four people were killed and 63 were wounded - three seriously - in an
explosion that rocked the entrance to the Hasharon shopping mall on Herzl
Street in Netanya at 11:30 a.m. Monday morning. Another person died on the
operating table at Laniado Hospital in Kfar Saba.

Police Insp.-Gen. Moshe Karadi told reporters that the bomber was
"identified 15 meters in front of the mall by policemen and a security
guard. Police managed to keep him away from the gate, and he blew himself up
when police approached him to conduct a search of his bags."

According to Karadi, "Members of the security services were hurt in the
event," but "the actions of the guards and the police prevented a much more
deadly bombing."

Magen David Adom reported that all of the wounded were evacuated to Laniado,
Meir and Hillel Yaffe hospitals. Nine wounded were taken to Laniado,
including one who died after arrival. Hillel Yaffe received 22 wounded and
28 were evacuated to Meir Hospital.

The Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the attack in a phone call to
Palestinian journalists, identifying the bomber as Lutfi Amin Abu Salem, a
resident of the northern West Bank village of Kafr Rai, located between the
towns of Jenin and Tulkarem. However, a radio station in the Gaza Strip
reported that the Fatah-affiliated Al Aksa Martyrs' Brigades terror group
claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Islamic Jihad is the only terror organization that is not a signatory to
the Palestinian factions' tahdiya, or "calm."

Police set up roadblocks and patrols throughout the country immediately
following the attack, and have raised the alert level nationwide. Police and
army were reportedly in pursuit of a vehicle that fled the scene immediately
after the explosion.
"It's obvious that the Palestinian Authority is showing no intention to take
real steps to dismantle or disarm the terrorist organizations," Ra'anan
Gissin, spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said in response to the
bombing. The bombing was "a direct consequence of not taking these steps."
He further accused Syria, Iran and Hizbullah of encouraging terrorism in
Israel "for the purpose of scuttling the process that seemed to be gaining
momentum," but added that this did not absolve the PA of responsibility.

Gissin told reporters that the security cabinet would meet Monday evening to
decide what measures Israel would take in response to the bombing. "We'll
take all necessary steps to defend ourselves," he stressed, and added that
Israel would not be limited in any way in its response.

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom called the attack "additional proof of the
inaction of the Palestinian Authority under Abu Mazen. Israel can't stand a
continuation of the spilling of blood in the cities and the Kassam attacks."
He added, "The leadership of the Palestinian Authority is refusing to act
against the terror organizations and to dismantle them."
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas condemned the bombing and
ordered the arrest of those involved, his office said in a statement.

"This operation ... against civilians causes the most serious harm to our
commitment to the peace process and the Palestinian Authority will not go
easy on whoever is found to be responsible for this operation," the
statement quoted him as saying.
The Islamic Jihad was also behind the October suicide bombing in the Hadera
market that killed five people.
Five people were killed in a previous terror attack at the same mall.