himself up Monday, May 19, in a crowded entrance to a shopping mall in northern Israel rescue workers and other sources said.
The blast in the northern Israeli town of Afula, the 5th such attack in three days in which more than a dozen Israelis died, raised further questions about the ability of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to end bloodshed and discuss peace with Israel.
"The Palestinian terrorists have clearly chosen an agenda of murder and terror," the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) News Service quoted an official in the Israeli Prime Minister’s office as saying.
"It’s obvious that despite Israel’s effort to make progress and pursue a path of dialogue, Palestinian terrorists have chosen to strike at Israel’s citizens and any and every opportunity," the official, David Baker, said.
CANCELLED TRIP
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon earlier cancelled a planned visit to the United States to discuss the American sponsored Roadmap for Peace in Washington with President George W. Bush, after scores of Israelis died in Jerusalem over the weekend.
Monday’s mall attack also lead to new calls for the Israeli army to finish the completion of a controversial security fence around the West Bank of the Jordan river.
The Voice of America (VOA) network quoted the Mayor of Afula, Yitzhak Meron, as saying that mall attack "might have been prevented with the completion of a security fence around the West Bank."
FORENSIC EXPERTS
As forensic experts from the Israeli police examined the blood stained scene of the suicide bombing Afula, the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, which is dedicated to Israel’s destruction, claimed responsibility for the attack, several news reports said.
Hamas the Islamic Resistance Movement, another organization that has vowed to destroy the Jewish State, has been linked to the first four bombings, VOA reported.
Those attacks apparently included one earlier Monday, May 19, in which a Palestinian riding a bicycle blew himself up alongside a military jeep in the Gaza Strip, wounding three soldiers.
It was still not clear if and how the latest violence would effect planned peace negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian prime minister.
Under discussion is an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state by 2005. The Palestinian leadership has endorsed the road map but Israel has reservations and reportedly plans to ask for changes to the plan.
