Netanya was once again the scene of a major bombing attack today, though this time, miraculously, no one was killed. It was just a year and three days ago that a Palestinian terrorist blew himself up in a Netanya hotel where hundreds of people were celebrating the Passover Seder, killing no fewer than 29 people. At least four other major Palestinian terror attacks have hit the town in the past two years, killing 13 people.
Eyewitnesses report that at about 1 PM, a soldier saw a suspicious-looking Arab attempting to enter the crowded London Cafe in Independence Square, and prevented him from doing so. The terrorist then turned to a group of soldiers walking close by, and blew himself up adjacent to them. Six people were seriously wounded in the blast, and 32 others were more mildly hurt. The soldier who prevented the terrorist from entering the cafe is reported in critical condition, and was flown by helicopter to Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital in Jerusalem. Dozens of lives were saved by the fact that the terrorist was kept out of the cafe, witnesses said.
"A large boom shook my entire restaurant," the manager of a nearby establishment told Israel Radio, "and we immediately knew it was a terror attack. I left all the meat on the grill and ran out to see if we could help anyone. Soldiers and other citizens came from all sides to give as much aid as they could." Public Security Minister Tzachi HaNegbi, who arrived on the scene, said that although many people were injured in the blast, "keeping the terrorist out of the cafe undoubtedly saved many lives. It proves that our ongoing efforts to safeguard our citizens have merit. We can't put a police officer on every corner, but we will continue to do all we can to stop the terrorists before they reach their target."
Netanya’s Laniado Hospital immediately went into disaster preparedness mode when word of the blast arrived. Lydia Lanxner, Laniado’s disaster preparedness director, said, "Every member of [my] staff dropped whatever he was doing and ran toward the emergency room, emptying it of patients so we could be ready when the first wave of victims arrived." She said that Netanya has seen 13 terrorist attacks in the past three years, "so unfortunately, what happened today is something that has become part of life for us." Laniado's chief surgeon, Dr. Yaakov Yolano, said that the victims of today’s attack had “the type of injuries that you would regularly see in a battlefield... Several people arrived at the emergency room in shock, some were missing limbs, plus there were several chest and stomach wounds. We are doing everything we can to treat them.”
Despite the fact that Israeli security services are already stretched to the limit - following some 56 general terror alerts for today alone - Police Commissioner Shlomo Aharonishki has put out an all-bulletins alert calling for an increased level of vigilance. He ordered an increase in police patrols in major cities, and ordered surprise roadblocks on critical intercity and urban thoroughfares. Within moments after the attack, police helicopters were in fact seen patrolling the skies of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Netanya Mayor Miriam Fireberg told reporters at the scene, "The moment we heard the blast we immediately knew it was a terror attack. Netanya residents have long learned to differentiate between a terrorist bomb blast and a supersonic boom from our air force... This attack, as those before it, will not break the residents of this city, and will not dent our resolve."
Some security sources are saying that today's terrorist had been in the area for a while, with orders to operate specifically on "Land Day" - a day of protests by the Israeli-Arab sector - and in conjunction with the U.S. advance on Baghdad. Other analysts disagree, saying he acted only in accordance with whatever "holes he could find in Israel's tight defensive net." Both HaNegbi and Aharonishki said that in general, Land Day had passed - as of late this afternoon - without any major disturbances.
Former MK Michael Kleiner, chairman of the Herut movement, released a response to the events in Netanya today: "It's time for us to stop our government's and media's compulsive coverage of the wars of others, while here we face our own war that endangers and kills us as a matter of routine." Kleiner, who lost his Knesset seat in the last elections, said that if Israel "had done with the PA a quarter of what the Americans are doing in Iraq, we would have had a New Middle East on a silver platter."
Eyewitnesses report that at about 1 PM, a soldier saw a suspicious-looking Arab attempting to enter the crowded London Cafe in Independence Square, and prevented him from doing so. The terrorist then turned to a group of soldiers walking close by, and blew himself up adjacent to them. Six people were seriously wounded in the blast, and 32 others were more mildly hurt. The soldier who prevented the terrorist from entering the cafe is reported in critical condition, and was flown by helicopter to Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital in Jerusalem. Dozens of lives were saved by the fact that the terrorist was kept out of the cafe, witnesses said.
"A large boom shook my entire restaurant," the manager of a nearby establishment told Israel Radio, "and we immediately knew it was a terror attack. I left all the meat on the grill and ran out to see if we could help anyone. Soldiers and other citizens came from all sides to give as much aid as they could." Public Security Minister Tzachi HaNegbi, who arrived on the scene, said that although many people were injured in the blast, "keeping the terrorist out of the cafe undoubtedly saved many lives. It proves that our ongoing efforts to safeguard our citizens have merit. We can't put a police officer on every corner, but we will continue to do all we can to stop the terrorists before they reach their target."
Netanya’s Laniado Hospital immediately went into disaster preparedness mode when word of the blast arrived. Lydia Lanxner, Laniado’s disaster preparedness director, said, "Every member of [my] staff dropped whatever he was doing and ran toward the emergency room, emptying it of patients so we could be ready when the first wave of victims arrived." She said that Netanya has seen 13 terrorist attacks in the past three years, "so unfortunately, what happened today is something that has become part of life for us." Laniado's chief surgeon, Dr. Yaakov Yolano, said that the victims of today’s attack had “the type of injuries that you would regularly see in a battlefield... Several people arrived at the emergency room in shock, some were missing limbs, plus there were several chest and stomach wounds. We are doing everything we can to treat them.”
Despite the fact that Israeli security services are already stretched to the limit - following some 56 general terror alerts for today alone - Police Commissioner Shlomo Aharonishki has put out an all-bulletins alert calling for an increased level of vigilance. He ordered an increase in police patrols in major cities, and ordered surprise roadblocks on critical intercity and urban thoroughfares. Within moments after the attack, police helicopters were in fact seen patrolling the skies of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Netanya Mayor Miriam Fireberg told reporters at the scene, "The moment we heard the blast we immediately knew it was a terror attack. Netanya residents have long learned to differentiate between a terrorist bomb blast and a supersonic boom from our air force... This attack, as those before it, will not break the residents of this city, and will not dent our resolve."
Some security sources are saying that today's terrorist had been in the area for a while, with orders to operate specifically on "Land Day" - a day of protests by the Israeli-Arab sector - and in conjunction with the U.S. advance on Baghdad. Other analysts disagree, saying he acted only in accordance with whatever "holes he could find in Israel's tight defensive net." Both HaNegbi and Aharonishki said that in general, Land Day had passed - as of late this afternoon - without any major disturbances.
Former MK Michael Kleiner, chairman of the Herut movement, released a response to the events in Netanya today: "It's time for us to stop our government's and media's compulsive coverage of the wars of others, while here we face our own war that endangers and kills us as a matter of routine." Kleiner, who lost his Knesset seat in the last elections, said that if Israel "had done with the PA a quarter of what the Americans are doing in Iraq, we would have had a New Middle East on a silver platter."