improve relations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, including the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Bethlehem.
A branch of Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility Tuesday, July 8, for the suicide bombing that rocked a family home the night before near Tel Aviv, amid concern that a three month truce announced by militant groups in recent days may not hold.
A 65-year old woman was killed while her three grandchildren were injured in the blast in the Israeli village of Kfar Yavetz, reports said.
An Islamic Jihad spokesman warned more violence was likely unless Israel fulfilled the group’s demand for mass Palestinian prisoner releases, not the 350 announced by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s cabinet on Sunday, July 6.
"TERRORIST INFRASTRUCTURE"
"This (suicide bombing) demonstrates, more than anything, the need for the Palestinians to fulfil their obligation that they undertook under the road map, to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure," said Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom on Army Radio, in a first reaction.
The spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stressed the bombing "proved" that the Palestinian cease-fire is worthless.
Ra’anan Gissin said the ceasefire "is not worth the paper it is written on and is no substitute for what he termed relentless real action to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure", the Voice of America (VOA) network reported.
HOME DESTROYED
Israeli police had initially blamed a natural gas leak for the explosion that leveled the home the woman. But after finding the body of an unidentified man in the rubble they began investigating it as a possible terror attack.
Meanwhile Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen (Abbas) " cancelled a meeting planned for Wednesday with (Prime Minister) Sharon," a senior Palestinian official reportedly told the Reuters news agency.
The cancellation was linked to "an internal crisis that emerged during the Fatah Central Committee meeting last night," the unidentified senior Palestinian official added.
Israel has expressed concern that the recently elected Palestinian prime minister may lack the influence to end the suicide attacks.
