Triple suicide bombings put a question mark on peace
Israel, International, 9/5/1997

The triple suicide bombings that occurred at Jerusalem's Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall yesterday killed seven people, including the three bombers, and injured 170 persons. It also put a question mark on the peace process, which seemed to be evolving in a positive way before the explosions happened, and it is directly related to the new Israeli raids on Lebanon nine hours later.

At least one of the bombers was disguised as a woman. They blew themselves up shortly after 3 p.m. local time, with a few seconds interval between each blast, among shoppers and tourists in front of cafes and gift shops and fast-food restaurants.

Israeli police said the explosives used in this bloody operation were of the same type as those in the July 30 marketplace bombings that killed 17 people. Israeli forces detained tens of Palestinians after the blasts and reimposed sanctions--first instituted in the aftermath of the July bombings--on the Palestinian Authority (PA), which were being gradually lifted.

The bombings--claimed by Hamas, although the PA attributed the attacks to forces abroad--were interpreted as a bloody message to American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who, however, will not cancel her visit to Israel and other countries in the region, according to American President Clinton. Clinton strongly condemned terrorism and asked the Palestinian Authority to fight against it as much as it could. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu did not hide his wrath, and he rejected the Palestinian Authority's proposed collaboration with Israel to fight against terrorism. After his visit to the injured people in hospitals, he promised to eliminate fundamentalists, and threatened to interfere directly in Palestinian zones.

Egyptian President Mubarak announced his disappointment, and encouraged all parties to do their best in order to establish Peace and fight violence.

French President Chirac announced a similar view, as did the other countries of the European Union. Palestinian President Arafat also condemned this incident, saying that "this terrorist activity was not only harmful to those who paid for it with their lives, but also to the Israeli and Palestinian people, as well as to the whole peace process."

Previous Stories:
  Suicide bombing in Israel - a thorough dissection   (9/4/1997)
  Phosphate barge's sinking threatens Nile drinking water   (9/2/1997)
  Israelis killed in suicide attack   (7/31/1997)

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