At least three people were killed by a suicide bomber Monday
morning, who blew himself up at a local bakery in the southern
Israeli resort city of Eilat, Israel's local daily
Ha'aretz reported.
A spokesman for Hamas, the radical Islamic group controlling the
Palestinian parliament and Cabinet, praised the bombing as a
"natural response" to Israeli policies. This position is likely to
shred efforts to end a crippling aid boycott imposed by the
international community.
The morning attack struck Eilat, a normally tranquil Red Sea
resort located at Israel's southern tip near the Jordanian and
Egyptian borders. Separated from Israel's largest cities by vast
swathes of desert, it has been largely immune from
Israeli-Palestinian fighting and has been seen as a popular getaway
for Israelis.
Israeli leaders condemned the bombing, stating it jeopardized a
two-month truce in Gaza. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed to
continue the "ongoing and never-ending struggle against
terrorists."
Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, convened an emergency
meeting of senior security officials to discuss a response. "It's
clear that extremists groups are doing everything they can to end
the cease-fire," he said. "We shall definitely take the necessary
steps... This is a grave incident, it's an escalation and we shall
treat it as such."
A Palestinian radio confirmed Monday that three militant groups
had claimed responsibility for the attack.
The three groups include the Islamic Jihad, al-Aqsa Brigades, or
the armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah
faction, and the previously unknown "Army of Believers".
The militant groups initially claimed responsibility for the
attack, which killed at least three people and wounded 15 others,
said Al-Quds, a local radio station broadcasting from Gaza
City.
However, Dawood Shihab, spokesman of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza
told reporters that his group had not officially claimed
responsibility for the attack, but "welcomes any attack targets the
occupation."
He added that this attack "is a message to those brothers who
are fighting each other in Gaza, telling them instead of pointing
the guns to each others chests, guns should be pointed at the
occupation."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Monday evening condemned the
suicide bombing, the Egyptian official news agency MENA
reported.
Abbas issued a statement upon his arrival in Cairo on Monday
evening, voicing strong opposition not only to the Eilat bombing
but also on all attacks targeting civilians, whether Israelis or
Palestinians.
Despondent bomber
The bomber was identified as Mohammed Saksak, 20, of Gaza City.
Saksak's family said he had left their home three days ago and not
returned.
Relatives said he was despondent because he was unemployed and
his baby daughter died recently of an illness. Also, his best
friend was killed in a clash with Israeli forces, they said, whilst
his brother is a top Islamic Jihad militant.
Witnesses said the bomber stood out due to the long winter coat
he wore on a warm, sunny day when he struck the small bakery in a
residential neighborhood. Police said the bomb was in a bag rather
than an explosives belt often used in past suicide attacks.
"It was very hot, very hot. He had a coat on and it didn't look
right to me. I thought to myself, 'What's that idiot dressed like
that for?' A couple of seconds later I heard a massive explosion,"
Benny Mazgini, 45, told Israel Radio.
Shattered glass, body parts and blood-splattered pastries were
visible on the sidewalk outside, alongside bread trays scattered by
the blast.
(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily via agencies January
30, 2007)
