explosion Sunday, October 27, at a petrol station near the entrance of a Jewish settlement north of Jerusalem, Israel Radio said.
The bomber, was believed to be among the three killed in the attack at Ariel, one of the largest settlements in the West Bank. Witnesses told reporters that a man carrying the explosives blew himself up after soldiers eating at a nearby food stand spotted him at Ariel’s petrol station.
"A suicide bomber came and there were many soldiers … and he blew himself up," Ron Nachman, mayor of the settlement of Ariel, was quoted as saying by Israel Radio.
SECOND ATTACK
Rescue workers who rushed to the scene said at least fifteen of the wounded were in serious condition following the blast, which came as the second suicide attack in less than a week.
On Monday, October 21, 14 people died when a car bomb exploded next to a Israeli bus.
Once again, the vicious agenda of Palestinian terrorists has taken its toll," David Baker, an official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office, was quoted as saying on the Web site of the Israeli Daily Ha’aretz.
"SPECTATORS"
He accused the Palestinian Authority of acting like "spectators", in what he described as "a campaign of terror against Israeli civilians." However Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said earlier that he condemns suicide attacks against civilians.
Sunday’s deadly blast came a day after United States envoy William Burns left Israel following separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials in an effort to end the violence, the Voice of America broadcasting network noted.
It was unclear what effect the latest suicide attack against a Jewish settlement would have on a reported cabinet crisis over Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s refusal to cut spending for Jewish settlers.
ISRAELI CRACKDOWN
Reporters in the region said however that they expected an even tougher Israeli crack-down against suspected Palestinian militants.
Israeli forces already entered the West Bank city of Jenin early Friday, October 25, following a suicide attack four days earlier for which an Islamic Jihad cell in the town is considered responsible.
At least one person, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy, was killed in the operation after he allegedly tried to climb onto a tank and plant an explosive on the vehicle, reported the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) News Service.
As the attack and counter attacks continue in the troubled region, the ICEJ and other Christian organizations have repeatedly urged churches and individual believers around the world to pray for Israel in this time of crisis.
