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Dec. 26, 2003
PFLP suicide bomber kills 4
By Matthew Gutman
A suicide bomber struck at the height of the evening rush hour Thursday, killing three women and one man and wounding 20, at a bus stop near on Route 4 (the Geha road) near Bnai Brak.
While it was the first major bombing since 21 people were killed at Haifa’s Maxim restaurant in October, the IDF has thwarted at least 35 attacks in recent weeks.
The bombing, claimed by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, came just minutes after the IAF struck in Gaza City, killing Makhled Hamed, head of Islamic Jihad’s military wing, whom the IDF had dubbed a "ticking bomb." The strike, spearheaded by Apache helicopters, killed at least four others and wounded about a dozen bystanders.
After the suicide bombing, at about 6 p. m., traffic jams caused by gawking drivers hampered initial attempts to evacuate the wounded. Locals also turned out to catch a peek at the commotion.
The area where the bombing occurred is used as a pick-up point for Palestinians illegally in the country searching for work, Tel Aviv police chief Cmdr. Yossi Sedbon told Israel Radio.
Police were seeking two people seen fleeing the site and instituted a high security alert. It was believed the fleeing suspects might have ferried the terrorist to his destination.
Following the bombing, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered an immediate clampdown on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Palestinians in both areas had recently been allowed a greater freedom of movement due to the significant drop in terror attacks — especially attacks within the Green Line.
The wounded, one of them in extremely serious condition, were taken to the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva and Sheba Hospital in Tel Hashomer.
The army had received warnings Thursday afternoon that terrorists might try to infiltrate the Sharon region, but the warning was not considered extreme enough to warrant setting up roadblocks in the area.
The Tel Aviv District police had not been on an especially high alert, although a terrorist had been caught — suicide belt and all — just last week on his way to a bombing in the center of the country, Sedbon said.
The bomber, whom the PFLP named as Sa’adi Hanani, 18, strolled to the eastern part of the bus stop and detonated his device — which police said was of medium size — hitting waiting passengers with razor-like shards of steel.
In the initial confusion, people said they heard a second bombing, and panic fueled a rumor that a Jewish-German organization had taken responsibility for the bombing.
The PFLP claimed the bombing as retribution for the killing of Hanani’s brother Faadi in an IDF operation in Nablus, Ynet reported.
IDF sources said that they see no intention among the terrorist groups, especially Islamic Jihad, of confining their attacks to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Police Insp.-Gen. Shlomo Aharonishky urged people not to stay home, but to attend the dozens of Hanukka celebrations across the country. He said that the police will be out in full force to provide security.
Part of this security, Defense Ministry officials said, was the killing of Hamed, a man Mofaz described as "always ready to conduct a mega-attack."
A Western diplomatic source warned that a new round of bloodshed would likely follow the IAF strike and the suicide bombing.
David Baker, an official in the Prime Minister’s Office, cautioned that the recent detente between Israeli and the PA had burst. "Tonight’s attack is another indication that the Palestinian Authority’s terror industry is always ready to strike Israel at any opportunity," he said.
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