A suicide bombing attack took place near an Israeli shopping mall, dubbed "Hasharon", at the entrance to the coastal town of Netanya, north of Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening. Two Israeli women were killed and scores were wounded, some of them seriously. Another woman was reported to be in critical condition.
The armed wing of the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for this attack. The suicide bomber was identified as Ahmad Abu Khalil from the town of Ateel, near the West PBank city of Tulkarem. Islamic Jihad said after the attack that it remained committed to
the calm. It said the bombing was a "natural response" to Israeli violations, such arrests of Islamic Jihad members.
It should be mentioned that in May 2001, five Israelis were killed after a Hamas member blew himself up near this shopping mall.
Earlier, one Palestinian has been seriously injured after he detonated his car at the entrance to the "Shavei Shomron" settlement in the West Bank.
In his reaction to the events, Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas strongly denounced the attack in Netanya and said those responsible for it were acting against the Palestinian people. "There's no sane and patriotic Palestinian who would do such a thing at the same time as Israel prepares to withdraw from 20 to 22 settlements in Gaza Strip and the West Bank," Abbas said in a statement.
The Palestinian President added that the attack was "an act of foolishness" and vowed to severely punish those responsible for it.
He maintained that neither of the Palestinian factions that signed the calm declaration in Cairo was responsible for the suicide bombing, "even the Islamic Jihad movement declared it was not responsible for it."
Abbas added that he was making contacts with all relevant parties, and reiterated the Palestinian Authority's strong denunciation of the attack, asserting his sympathy with the victims' families.
