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BEERSHEBA, Israel - A suicide bomber blew himself up outside the
central bus station in this southern Israeli city during morning
rush hour Sunday, critically wounding two security guards in the
first attack since Israel began its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip
this month.
The bombing raised pressure on Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to
crack down on militant groups. Israel has said any progress in
peacemaking after the Gaza withdrawal will require Abbas to disarm
the militants a step he so far has been unwilling to take.
Abbas denounced the bombing as a "terror attack," and called on
Israel to show restraint and continue to respect a shaky,
six-month-old cease-fire. "We condemn such attacks. We don't accept
them, and we call on everyone to refrain from retaliation," he
said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. All the major
Palestinian militant groups had threatened to avenge an Israeli
raid in the
West Bank last week that killed five Palestinians. In his comments
Sunday, Abbas suggested the raid had provoked the attack.
Israel forcibly removed the last of its 8,500 Jewish settlers from
Gaza last week, and is expected to complete the pullout by early
October.
Pushing forward with the withdrawal, Israel's Cabinet approved a
plan to allow Egypt to deploy 750 troops along the border between
Gaza and Egypt to prevent weapons smuggling into the Palestinian
territory. The plan will allow Israel to withdraw its troops from a
security strip on the Gaza-Egypt border, a key step in the
pullout.
Israel also began exhuming on Sunday the 48 bodies buried in the
Jewish cemetery in Gaza for reburial inside Israel. The reburials
are expected to be finished by the end of the week.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he hopes the pullout will lead
to a resumption of peace talks, which have been frozen for more
than two years, but the bombing Sunday cast doubt on that
possibility.
"Israel has taken the necessary steps to further the prospects of
peace with the Palestinians," said David Baker, an official in
Sharon's office. "This bombing ... is another indication that the
Palestinian Authority must take proper steps against terror, and
without these steps, there will be no progress between both
sides."
Sunday's attack occurred in a dirt parking lot about 100 yards from
the bus station, which was crowded with morning rush-hour
travelers. Witnesses said two security guards halted the bomber,
preventing a much larger attack. The guards were critically injured
with burns and shrapnel wounds.
Taxi driver Itzik Ohana said he was waiting for customers in the
lot when he saw the bomber, a man about 20, who had short hair and
was dragging a heavy bag and sweating. The man frequently stopped
to put the bag down and rest.
Ohana said he told a security guard about the suspicious-looking
man and called the police. "While I was talking to the police there
was an explosion," he said.
After the attack, police raised the alert level across the
country.
During Sunday's Cabinet meeting, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said
the West Bank is becoming the focus for Israel's war against
militants. He said Israel has made it clear that the Palestinians
must fulfill their pledges to act against militants.
Tensions rose in recent days between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israel upset the Palestinians last week with plans to confiscate
land around the West Bank settlement of Maaleh Adumim, for
construction of the massive separation barrier.
Israeli troops also killed five Palestinians in an arrest raid in
the West Bank town of Tulkarem. Israel said the five were all
fugitive militants, but the Palestinians said two were unarmed
teenagers. Their deaths prompted calls for revenge from the Hamas,
Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades groups.
Khaled al-Batch, an Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza, said he did not
know who carried out Sunday's attack. "But it came as a natural
reaction to the occupation crimes," he said. "It is our right to
retaliate."
On Saturday, Hamas released a videotape purportedly showing its top
bombmaker celebrating the Gaza pullout as a victory for armed
resistance and calling for continued attacks until Israel is
destroyed. The bombmaker, Mohammed Deif, has been in hiding from
Israeli troops since 1992.
Israeli authorities suspected the attacker came from the Hebron
area in the southern West Bank. Construction of the barrier, which
Israel says is meant to block attacks, hasn't been completed in
that area, allowing militants to infiltrate relatively easily. Two
suicide bombers from Hebron struck Beersheba in August 2004,
killing 16 people, prompting Israel to speed up construction in the
area.
"We have to finish the fence and we are making efforts," Israeli
Vice Premier Ehud Olmert told Israel Radio.
