Wednesday, July 17, Israeli Radio reported. Police officials said they believe that two of the dead may have been the bombers.
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) News Agency said the terror attack occurred shortly after 10 pm local time in south Tel Aviv, which it added is "normally a city bustling with nightlife." It had largely shut down after sunset on this particular evening in observance of the Jewish day of mourning Tisha B’Av, the ICEJ News Agency added.
FOREIGN WORKERS
Two of the dead and most of the wounded are thought to have been foreign workers who were hanging out on busy Neve Sha’anan street near a cinema and café. Many foreign workers live in the run-down south Tel Aviv neighborhood and would not have been keeping the Tisha B’Av fast.
Israeli police said the terrorists acted in tandem by standing near each other and setting off their explosives within seconds of each others. The explosive devices were either strapped to their waists or carried in bags and contained nails and metal shards to increase the carnage, the ICEJ News Service quoted reports as saying.
PALESTINIAN CONDEMNS ATTACK
Palestinian Cabinet Minister, Saeb Erekat, condemned the attack, saying he was against the killing of all civilians, whether they be Israeli or Palestinian, the Voice of America (VOA) reported.
He said that the only way to end the violence is for Israel to end its military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
However the Israeli government blamed the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat for the attack, with spokesman, Avni Pazner, saying that the had made "no effort to stop the bloodshed and the killings are likely to continue as long as he remains in power."
ISRAELI ATTACKS CONTINUE
Israeli officials say that Israel has no choice to continue with a heavy military presence in the West Bank until the attacks are halted and the Palestinian people choose a new leader, who is willing to strive for peace with the Jewish State.
The bombings came a day after Palestinian gunmen killed 8 Israeli’s, including reportedly a 67-year old grandmother and two infants, in an ambush on a bus in the West Bank, raising further doubts about already tense international peace negotiations. During talks in New York on Wednesday, July 17, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union openly voiced their disagreement with the United States administration over the role of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
CHANGE OF LEADERSHIP
US President George W. Bush has called for a change of leadership and has linked Palestinian reforms to any resumption of peace talks.
Political analyst Dan Tschirgi of the American University in Cairo told VOA that although US allies agree that Arafat is an unwilling peace partner, they also see him as a legitimately elected Palestinian leader who cannot be left out of the equation. "The Europeans are not saying it has to be Arafat who is the leader," he said. "What they are saying is they will not go along with a position that Arafat must be excluded."
