(16 February 2002 – 21:58) Two people were murdered and at least 30 were wounded tonight, when an Arab suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near a pizza shop in the Karnei Shomron shopping center, located east of Herziliya. The bomb, which was set off at approximately 7:45 p.m., was filled with steel nails, increasing the number of injuries and killings. An Israeli boy and woman are identified as those killed in the attack.
Seven of the wounded are reported in serious condition, three are suffering from moderate to serious injuries, and the rest are lightly injured. Among the evacuated victims were several children. Police cleared everyone out of the shopping center to check for other explosives in the area.
In a telephone call to Qatar’s al-Jazeera Television, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror organization claimed responsibility for the incident.
Eyewitnesses said that the Arab terrorist displayed a keen familiarity with the inside of the shopping center, walking directly towards the pizza parlor. Investigators surmise that the Arab was either employed at the mall or received detailed information from an Arab employee there. Karnei Shomron residents expressed fury this evening at storeowners in the mall who employ Arabs.
The closed-circuit security TV system documented the entire sequence of events, including the carnage moments after the blast. Members of the local town council who viewed the video before handing it over to investigators said that it was an “unbearable sight.”
The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza (Yesha) convened an emergency meeting in Karnei Shomron. Yesha leaders are calling on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to order an immediate end to the government’s policy of gradual attrition and instead to “rapidly dismantle the world’s largest terrorist organization, the Fatah-PA.”
An ailing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon began consultations with senior ministers and military advisors to decide on an immediate response. Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office indicated that a retaliation can be expected in the immediate future. Government Spokesman Avi Pazner told Reuters this attack is simply another of Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority’s murder campaign. “We are going to take every action needed in order to fight the scourge of terrorism and take whatever action is needed to prevent further acts on the part of the terrorist organizations,” he said.
Knesset Member Michael Kleiner (Herut party) said that the Palestinians are winning points in their war against Israel, and Israel must deliver a “knockout punch” to bring about a decisive military victory. “We cannot win this war without re-conquering all of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza and expelling all who bear arms and all terrorists,” said Kleiner.
Some of the seriously wounded were evacuated by helicopter, and others were taken by ambulance to Meir, Tel HaShomer, Beilinson and HaSharon hospitals. Hospital hotline information numbers: Meir Hospital at 12-55-199, Tel HaShomer Hospital at 12-55-131 and Beilinson Hospital at 12-55-134.
While the wounded were being evacuated, Peace Now demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square and marched to the plaza in front of the Tel-Aviv Museum to protest the presence of Jews in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Leading them was Knesset opposition leader MK Yossi Sarid (Meretz), MK’s Colette Avital (Labor party), Roman Bronfman (Democratic Choice) and former Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, Ph.D., architect of the Oslo peace process which preceded the Oslo war. Speakers at the rally called for further Israeli concessions to the Arabs.
Elsewhere on the Oslo War front, a Kassam-1 rocket was fired at the army’s Northern Battalion Command Headquarters in northern Gaza a short time ago. There were no injuries. In southern Jerusalem, there have been two shooting attacks tonight aimed at the Har Homa neighborhood, in the southern corridor of the capital. There were no injuries.
Seven of the wounded are reported in serious condition, three are suffering from moderate to serious injuries, and the rest are lightly injured. Among the evacuated victims were several children. Police cleared everyone out of the shopping center to check for other explosives in the area.
In a telephone call to Qatar’s al-Jazeera Television, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror organization claimed responsibility for the incident.
Eyewitnesses said that the Arab terrorist displayed a keen familiarity with the inside of the shopping center, walking directly towards the pizza parlor. Investigators surmise that the Arab was either employed at the mall or received detailed information from an Arab employee there. Karnei Shomron residents expressed fury this evening at storeowners in the mall who employ Arabs.
The closed-circuit security TV system documented the entire sequence of events, including the carnage moments after the blast. Members of the local town council who viewed the video before handing it over to investigators said that it was an “unbearable sight.”
The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza (Yesha) convened an emergency meeting in Karnei Shomron. Yesha leaders are calling on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to order an immediate end to the government’s policy of gradual attrition and instead to “rapidly dismantle the world’s largest terrorist organization, the Fatah-PA.”
An ailing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon began consultations with senior ministers and military advisors to decide on an immediate response. Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office indicated that a retaliation can be expected in the immediate future. Government Spokesman Avi Pazner told Reuters this attack is simply another of Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority’s murder campaign. “We are going to take every action needed in order to fight the scourge of terrorism and take whatever action is needed to prevent further acts on the part of the terrorist organizations,” he said.
Knesset Member Michael Kleiner (Herut party) said that the Palestinians are winning points in their war against Israel, and Israel must deliver a “knockout punch” to bring about a decisive military victory. “We cannot win this war without re-conquering all of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza and expelling all who bear arms and all terrorists,” said Kleiner.
Some of the seriously wounded were evacuated by helicopter, and others were taken by ambulance to Meir, Tel HaShomer, Beilinson and HaSharon hospitals. Hospital hotline information numbers: Meir Hospital at 12-55-199, Tel HaShomer Hospital at 12-55-131 and Beilinson Hospital at 12-55-134.
While the wounded were being evacuated, Peace Now demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square and marched to the plaza in front of the Tel-Aviv Museum to protest the presence of Jews in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Leading them was Knesset opposition leader MK Yossi Sarid (Meretz), MK’s Colette Avital (Labor party), Roman Bronfman (Democratic Choice) and former Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, Ph.D., architect of the Oslo peace process which preceded the Oslo war. Speakers at the rally called for further Israeli concessions to the Arabs.
Elsewhere on the Oslo War front, a Kassam-1 rocket was fired at the army’s Northern Battalion Command Headquarters in northern Gaza a short time ago. There were no injuries. In southern Jerusalem, there have been two shooting attacks tonight aimed at the Har Homa neighborhood, in the southern corridor of the capital. There were no injuries.