that killed at least 15 passengers on board two buses in the Israeli city of Beersheba and injured as many as 90 people, on Tuesday, August 31, more victims than previously estimated.
Hamas made its claim in leaflets distributed in Hebron, the closest Palestinian city to Beersheba, saying the attack was "avenging Israel’s assassinations" of two of its leaders earlier this year.
Israel assassinated Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas, and his successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi.
Hamas has repeatedly pledged to avenge their deaths, but had taken little action before Tuesday, August 31, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
"If you thought that the martyrdom of our leaders would weaken our missions and discourage us from Jihad, then you are dreaming," the Hamas leaflet said.
GATHERING BODIES
The announcement came as Israeli police officers as well as rescue and recovery volunteers were seen gathering bodies in front of the destroyed buses. Eyewitnesses said the buses burst into flames about 100 yards apart near a bustling intersection in Beersheba, the largest city in southern Israel
"People were screaming and yelling. Everybody was running," Witness Tzvika Schreter, a 50-year-old college lecturer told AP.
Reporters expressed surprise about the location of the blasts, the first suicide attacks in nearly half a year. Beersheba, a town of some 150,000 people, is located in the Negev desert roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the Gaza Strip and had been far removed from the usual scenes of Palestinian militant violence. It is regarded as an important historic site by Israelis, as the Bible refers to it in conjunction with Abraham and Isaac, seen as arch fathers of Israel.
FIGHTING TERROR
The last successful suicide bombings were on March 14 when two Palestinians blew themselves up in the Israeli port of Ashdod, killing 10 people. That attack led to an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip that killed Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, news reports said.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who met in an emergency session with top security officials, told Israel Radio that the Jewish state "will continue fighting terror with all its might."
While he expressed shock about the latest attack, government officials stressed Israel’s controversial security barrier being built in and around the West Bank had drastically cut down the number of "successful" terror attacks.
EARLY DETECTION
The Israeli military has said the wall combined with sophisticated equipment also helped them to detect potential suicide bombers easier. Early Tuesday morning, August 31, Israeli troops caught and disarmed a man wearing an explosive belt as he tried to pass through the Erez checkpoint from the northern Gaza Strip into Israel, BosNewsLife monitored.
Palestinian leaders have condemned the suicide blasts and called for an immediate cease-fire and resumption of peace talks. The European Union also condemned the bombing and urged an end to bloodshed in the Middle East.
"The Palestinian interest requires a stop to harming all civilians so as not give Israel pretext to continue its aggression against our people," Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said in a statement, AP reported.
NO PEACE TALKS
However Prime Minister Sharon has refused to negotiate with the Palestinians. Instead, Sharon urged his Likud Party Tuesday, August 31, to support his time table for a unilateral Israeli withdrawal next year from the Gaza Strip and four isolated West Bank settlements, a move, he says, will improve Israel’s security.
On September 26, Cabinet ministers will be given draft legislation for carrying out the withdrawal, and the bill will have to be approved by the government on October 24, Sharon reportedly said. By November 3, the legislation will be presented to parliament for a first of three votes.
Sharon has already lost two Likud battles over his pullout plan – a nonbinding referendum by party members and a convention vote. At least half of the 40 Likud members of parliament oppose the pullout, AP reported.
HUNGER STRIKE
Sharon’s government has also made clear it will not negotiate with Palestinian prisoners demanding better treatment. On Tuesday, August 31, about 750 security prisoners at the Gilboa prison broke their hunger strike and received food from Israel Prisons Service (IPS), The Jerusalem Post news paper said.
The development brings the number of striking security prisoners to 1500, nearly half of the 3200 Palestinian prisoners who started a hunger strike on August 15 in an attempt to press for better imprisonment conditions, the paper claimed. There was no independent confirmation of that report.
Meanwhile the High Court of Justice reportedly turned down a petition by Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, demanding that the Israel Prisons Service be ordered to supply salt and fluids to hunger striking prisoners.
The IPS has taken a series of measures against striking prisoners, which include the cessation of family visits, cigarettes and drinks supplies, The Jerusalem Post reported.
