15 killed in Jerusalem suicide bombing. Cabinet deliberates retaliation for attack
ETGAR LEFKOVITS
A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up inside the Sbarro pizzeria in the center of Jerusalem yesterday afternoon, killing 15 people, including six children, and wounding more than 130 others. Five members of one family were killed. It was the deadliest attack in the city since the intifada began last September.
Carrying the explosives in a bag strapped to his body, the bomber entered the restaurant at the corner of Jaffa Road and King George Avenue, one of the busiest intersections in the capital, just before 2 p.m. and detonated his device.
The 5 kg.-10 kg. bomb, which was packed with nails, screws, and bolts, completely gutted the restaurant, which was full of lunchtime diners.
Among the 15 dead were Israelis and tourists, including a woman, 31, from New Jersey and a man, 60, from Brazil. The names of the victims were only beginning to be released late last night. Initially, Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the blast and named the terrorist as Hussein Omar Abu Nasseh, 23, in faxes it sent to news agencies.
But later in the evening, in what security officials believe is more likely, Hamas took credit and named the bomber as Izzadin Masri, 23, prompting some speculation that one of the two may be at large.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon held urgent consultations with Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in Tel Aviv over how to respond. The security cabinet was meeting late last night.
Responding to the attack, US President George W. Bush called on Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to take 'immediate and sustained' action to prevent further bombings.
'Palestinian Authority Chairman Arafat must condemn this horrific terrorist attack, act now to arrest and bring to justice those responsible, and take immediate, sustained action to prevent future terrorist attacks,' he said in a statement.
After hours of refusing to condemn the attack and following intense American pressure, Arafat's office issued a statement in the evening condemning 'all attacks against civilians, Israelis and Palestinians' and calling on Israel to 'issue a declaration for a joint and comprehensive cease-fire.'
Earlier, PA Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said that Israel was to blame for the attack 'with its policy of assassination of Palestinian civilians and leaders.'
'In this long war we are in, sometimes the other side has successes as well,' said police Insp.-Gen. Shlomo Aharonishsky, who noted that 'Jerusalem has been the target of Palestinian terrorists for weeks now.'
He said that the warnings of impending attacks had intensified in the last few days, and he did not rule out the possibility that this was only the first of a series of attacks planned for the capital.
He said that he understands the feelings of fear among Jerusalem residents, but said that people should go about their daily lives - just with extra awareness and precaution - 'otherwise we will be playing into the terrorists' hands.'
Calling the bombing 'a major blow in the heart of the city of Jerusalem,' Mayor Ehud Olmert noted that a series of other attacks had been recently thwarted in the capital, in addition to those made public.
Eyewitness Benny Peretz, who decided to take a Magen David Adom first aid course after a close call in a 1994 terror attack, said :'I heard a tremendous explosion, and I knew that something dreadful had happened. Laying in front of me, I saw the body of a little girl. People thought she was dead, but then she made a movement. I started giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Later, I noticed a young woman turning on her side from underneath the rubble, and I tried to help her, too. I only hope that I succeeded.'
'I heard a huge explosion, and without thinking ran into the pizzeria,' said medic Doron Yamin. 'I saw dozens of people lying on the ground - babies, children, young women.'
'It was horrifying; I cannot even describe in words the horror of it all,' said Sherry, who works in the clothing store next door and was just about to head for lunch at Sbarro.
After a pause, she added: 'Try to understand. It is very difficult for me. They were bringing the bodies of the wounded into our shop - children, women, covered in blood.'
After the explosion, police, who had cordoned off the intersection and were concerned there might be another bomb amid the debris, began distancing onlookers and journalists. After about half an hour, sappers carried out a controlled explosion of what turned out to be the remains of the bomb.
As after previous attacks, a small crowd of about 20 rowdy Kach supporters gathered to chant 'Death to the Arabs' and 'Sharon is a failure,' though they were soon dispersed by police.
Then there were the stories of lucky escapes: the woman whose five-year-old daughter had insisted on sitting on the top floor at Sbarro, and thus escaped serious injury; the elderly man lying in the street, who insisted that he would live for his five children; a woman with her four children who chose to sit near the counter, because her daughter was hungry and wanted to see her food being made; the family that lingered in a clothing shop nearby and thus delayed going to lunch.
