September 9, after Hamas pledged "unprecedented revenge" for Israel’s military attack against its founder, police said.
Authorities added that the explosion occurred about 6 p.m. local time near a bus stop and soldiers’ hitchhiking station at the entrance to the Tzrifin army camp east of Tel Aviv.
The area was reportedly crowded with soldiers waiting for rides at the time of the blast. Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, the political leader of the militant group Hamas, was quoted as saying that the attack at the defense base was a response to Israel’s actions.
"Whoever is responsible, this attack is part of a response to the Zionist crimes – to the assassinations, to the assassination attempts and to the incursions," Rantissi told the AFP news agency, said the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
David Baker, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, told reporters that the latest attack proved that the Palestinian Authority is"doing absolutely nothing" to rein in terrorists or "dismantle the terror infrastructure in their areas."
PEOPLE EVACUATED
Following the bomb blast, police evacuated hundreds of bystanders from the area, fearing additional explosive devices may have been planted in the area, said JNW, a Jerusalem based Christian news service.
Israel has been on alert for possible Palestinian attacks since Saturday’s failed attempt by Israeli forces to kill 67-year old Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the wheel-chair bound spiritual leader of Hamas, which claimed suicide bombings that killed hundreds of people.
"Especially tense was Jerusalem, where security forces set up road-blocks throughout the city and soldiers and police were deployed in large numbers," said JNW.
KILLINGS CONTINUE
Despite the suicide attack there were no indications Israeli troops would stop its operations against suspected Hamas militants and Israel said earlier it had "cross marked" the group’s leaders for assassination.
Israel has stepped up attacks on militant leaders since a Hamas suicide bomber blew up a Jerusalem bus on 19 August, killing over 20 people, including children. At least 11 Hamas militants and four civilian bystanders have been killed in missile strikes in Gaza since the Jerusalem bus bombing, the BBC said.
Earlier on Tuesday , September 9, shrapnel from one shell reportedly killed a 12- year-old child in the West Bank town of Hebron, who was nearby a building raided by Israeli troops as part of their search for militants. Two bodies which have yet to be identified were later discovered in the building, the BBC reported.
