Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz, who returned today from a working trip to Egypt, said that during his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, he warned that the Islamic Jihad and Hamas were planning terrorist attacks in Israel. Minister Mofaz said that, in the wake of the Hadera bombing, he is calling his staff together Wednesday night for a situation report. He said that he would do "everything necessary to defend the citizens of Israel."
Echoing the Defense Minister, Deputy Minister of Public Security Yaakov Edri (Likud) told reporters at the scene of the devastation that the security services knew that the center of Palestinian Authority terrorism would move to Judea and Samaria. "The IDF is acting and there are arrests every day, in order to prevent what, to our sorrow, happened today. We have a long struggle ahead of us with the terrorist organizations."
Israel's Communications Minister Dalia Itzik (Labor) called off a scheduled meeting today with her counterpart from the Palestinian Authority, saying, "We cannot discuss daily affairs with the Palestinian leadership while innocent Israeli citizens are being murdered."
Knesset Member Ehud Yatom, among the opponents of the Gaza Disengagement Plan in the Likud, said the Hadera attack is part of the lessons the terrorists have learned - that it is possible to expel Jews through the use of force. MK Yuli Edelstein, also of the Likud, said that "the Islamic Jihad is reaping the fruits of the Disengagement" in successfully carrying out the bombing.
Reactions from the opposition benches in the Knesset were also swift in coming.
The chairman of Israel Beitenu, former Infrastructure Minister Avigdor Lieberman, said, "The attack in Hadera joins the Kassam fire on S'derot and the murderous attack at the Gush Etzion junction. These terrorist attacks testify to the fact that Israel is in the midst of a violent struggle and not in the midst of a diplomatic process." Lieberman said that the government of Israel is confused between the two: "A government that refuses to see the truth is fully responsible for the continuing security failure."
Mr. Lieberman made his comments during a tour of the Samaria region security fence. Upon hearing from the mayor of the city of Ariel, Ron Nachman, that the fence has been built right along the main cross-Samaria highway, Lieberman commented, "The path of the fence allows terrorists to shoot at passing cars with a pistol. Travel along the highway will become dangerous and in a short amount of time, we will return to the [pre-State] days when travel to Mt. Scopus was with armored escorts."
Israel Beitenu is planning to table a bill on Monday that would legally and formally annex Ariel, Gush Etzion, Ma'aleh Adumim and Givat Ze'ev to the State of Israel.
MK Aryeh Eldad of the National Union party called on Prime Minister Sharon and Defense Minister Mofaz to resign due to the deteriorating security situation. The two had promised that the pullout from Gaza and northern Samaria would improve Israel's security.
MK Effie Eitam of the Religious Zionist Renewal party said, "The Sharon government is marching in the path laid down by the government [that brought the Oslo Accords] - into a security abyss - with open eyes."
"The Disengagement enlivened the terrorist organizations and returned the suicide bombers to the heart of the country, just as the Oslo Accords brought about hundreds of dead and wounded after a period of quiet," Eitam explained.
Chairman of the National Religious Party, MK Zevulun Orlev, said, "The residents of Hadera are paying the price of the flight from Gush Katif, and the citizens of Israel are reaping in blood the seeds of destruction of the Disengagement." According to Orlev, "The flight from Gush Katif gave an shot of encouragement to the terrorists and the government of Israel is compounding the crime with a sin as it counts on Abu Mazen and his coterie instead of fighting an uncompromising war of destruction against terrorism."
The Judea, Samaria and Gaza Council released a statement, saying: "The Council expresses its sorrow over those murdered in Hadera; it has been proven that he who runs away from terror - the terror chases after him. And the flight from Gush Katif and northern Samaria set the security situation back by years, while demolishing the fantasy of the security fence. Only an ongoing war against terrorism at its bases will bring about its elimination and an improvement in the security situation."
On the Palestinian Authority side of the fence, PA Chairman Mahmoud ("Abu Mazen") Abbas reacted to the Hadera attack by saying that it "harms Palestinian interests and could widen the cycle of violence, chaos, extremism and bloodshed." He did not, and has never, in any way express blanket condemnation of suicide bombings in principle.
Abroad, the bombing was roundly condemned by the United States and the European Union.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan issued a sharp condemnation of the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday for not doing enough to control terrorist groups in the wake of the Hadera bombing. Labeling the bombing as “a heinous attack on innocent civilians”, McClellan called on the Palestinian Authority to “do more to end the violence and prevent terrorism attacks from being carried out.”
Britain’s Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East, Kim Howells, also condemned the attack. However, Howells, speaking on behalf of the European Union, added that the European Union urged “restraint on the Israeli authorities in responding to this cowardly attack.” At the same time, he stated that the Palestinian Authority must make a stronger response against terrorist acts.
Echoing the Defense Minister, Deputy Minister of Public Security Yaakov Edri (Likud) told reporters at the scene of the devastation that the security services knew that the center of Palestinian Authority terrorism would move to Judea and Samaria. "The IDF is acting and there are arrests every day, in order to prevent what, to our sorrow, happened today. We have a long struggle ahead of us with the terrorist organizations."
Israel's Communications Minister Dalia Itzik (Labor) called off a scheduled meeting today with her counterpart from the Palestinian Authority, saying, "We cannot discuss daily affairs with the Palestinian leadership while innocent Israeli citizens are being murdered."
Knesset Member Ehud Yatom, among the opponents of the Gaza Disengagement Plan in the Likud, said the Hadera attack is part of the lessons the terrorists have learned - that it is possible to expel Jews through the use of force. MK Yuli Edelstein, also of the Likud, said that "the Islamic Jihad is reaping the fruits of the Disengagement" in successfully carrying out the bombing.
Reactions from the opposition benches in the Knesset were also swift in coming.
The chairman of Israel Beitenu, former Infrastructure Minister Avigdor Lieberman, said, "The attack in Hadera joins the Kassam fire on S'derot and the murderous attack at the Gush Etzion junction. These terrorist attacks testify to the fact that Israel is in the midst of a violent struggle and not in the midst of a diplomatic process." Lieberman said that the government of Israel is confused between the two: "A government that refuses to see the truth is fully responsible for the continuing security failure."
Mr. Lieberman made his comments during a tour of the Samaria region security fence. Upon hearing from the mayor of the city of Ariel, Ron Nachman, that the fence has been built right along the main cross-Samaria highway, Lieberman commented, "The path of the fence allows terrorists to shoot at passing cars with a pistol. Travel along the highway will become dangerous and in a short amount of time, we will return to the [pre-State] days when travel to Mt. Scopus was with armored escorts."
Israel Beitenu is planning to table a bill on Monday that would legally and formally annex Ariel, Gush Etzion, Ma'aleh Adumim and Givat Ze'ev to the State of Israel.
MK Aryeh Eldad of the National Union party called on Prime Minister Sharon and Defense Minister Mofaz to resign due to the deteriorating security situation. The two had promised that the pullout from Gaza and northern Samaria would improve Israel's security.
MK Effie Eitam of the Religious Zionist Renewal party said, "The Sharon government is marching in the path laid down by the government [that brought the Oslo Accords] - into a security abyss - with open eyes."
"The Disengagement enlivened the terrorist organizations and returned the suicide bombers to the heart of the country, just as the Oslo Accords brought about hundreds of dead and wounded after a period of quiet," Eitam explained.
Chairman of the National Religious Party, MK Zevulun Orlev, said, "The residents of Hadera are paying the price of the flight from Gush Katif, and the citizens of Israel are reaping in blood the seeds of destruction of the Disengagement." According to Orlev, "The flight from Gush Katif gave an shot of encouragement to the terrorists and the government of Israel is compounding the crime with a sin as it counts on Abu Mazen and his coterie instead of fighting an uncompromising war of destruction against terrorism."
The Judea, Samaria and Gaza Council released a statement, saying: "The Council expresses its sorrow over those murdered in Hadera; it has been proven that he who runs away from terror - the terror chases after him. And the flight from Gush Katif and northern Samaria set the security situation back by years, while demolishing the fantasy of the security fence. Only an ongoing war against terrorism at its bases will bring about its elimination and an improvement in the security situation."
On the Palestinian Authority side of the fence, PA Chairman Mahmoud ("Abu Mazen") Abbas reacted to the Hadera attack by saying that it "harms Palestinian interests and could widen the cycle of violence, chaos, extremism and bloodshed." He did not, and has never, in any way express blanket condemnation of suicide bombings in principle.
Abroad, the bombing was roundly condemned by the United States and the European Union.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan issued a sharp condemnation of the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday for not doing enough to control terrorist groups in the wake of the Hadera bombing. Labeling the bombing as “a heinous attack on innocent civilians”, McClellan called on the Palestinian Authority to “do more to end the violence and prevent terrorism attacks from being carried out.”
Britain’s Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East, Kim Howells, also condemned the attack. However, Howells, speaking on behalf of the European Union, added that the European Union urged “restraint on the Israeli authorities in responding to this cowardly attack.” At the same time, he stated that the Palestinian Authority must make a stronger response against terrorist acts.