A rchive Date
[ 25-06-2005 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Israel ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/03n1.html
'IT WAS HELL'
19 die in suicide-bomber attack
By AP
Mar 28, 2002
NETANYA, Israel -- A suicide bomber burst into a hotel dining room and blew himself up yesterday just as Israelis were sitting down to a Seder meal celebrating the Jewish Passover.At least 19 Israelis were killed and more than 120 wounded.
The explosion tore through the ground floor of the Park Hotel in this northern coastal resort, blowing out walls and windows and overturning tables and chairs. "Suddenly it was hell," said one of the guests, Nechama Donenhirsch, 52.
The Islamic militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for what Israeli government spokesman Gideon Meir called a "Passover massacre." The bomber, a 25-year-old Palestinian, had worked in Netanya hotels. It was one of the worst suicide bombings in the past 18 months of Israeli-Palestinian fighting. The deadliest was an attack in June outside a Tel Aviv disco that left 22 dead.
The explosion occurred at about 7:20 p.m., as dozens of guests in the luxury Park Hotel along Netanya's boardwalk settled down for the Passover Seder in the dining hall.
The bomber, carrying a large bag of explosives, made his way past an armed guard at the hotel entrance who did not consider him suspicious, Israel TV said. From the lobby, he ran toward the dining hall, where he blew himself up.
Donenhirsch, a guest, said that as she and her family fled, they saw a little girl, about 10 to 12 years old, lying dead on the ground, her eyes wide open as if in surprise. Witnesses said they saw five bodies lined up on the pavement, some of them dismembered. White bodybags lined the sidewalk in front of the hotel.
"They attacked innocent Israelis on one of the most sacred nights to Jewish people, Passover," said Meir. Passover marks the Biblical exodus from Egypt.
Israeli police had been on high alert for possible attacks during the weeklong Passover holiday, with more than 10,000 officers deployed in potential trouble spots.
The bombing threatened to derail the latest U.S. truce mission, just hours after President George W. Bush said his envoy to the region had made some progress. In later comments, Bush said "this callous, this cold-blooded killing, it must stop. I call upon Mr. Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to do everything in their power to stop the terrorist killing."
'STRONGLY CONDEMNED"
Israel, which had reluctantly accepted the latest U.S. ceasefire proposals, said it would have to reassess its policy and held Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat responsible for the bombing. Police Minister Uzi Landau called for retaliation, saying the Palestinian Authority must be destroyed.
The Palestinian Authority "strongly condemned" the bombing as an attempt to undermine both the U.S.-led ceasefire talks and the Arab summit in Beirut discussing a Saudi peace initiative. It pledged to take tough measures against those involved. Palestinian security sources said Arafat ordered the arrests of four key militants in the West Bank.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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