Last update - 00:00 06/02/2008
Hamas claims responsibility for suicide bombing in Dimona
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Hamas on Tuesday claimed responsibility for Monday's suicide bombing in Dimona, saying it was carried out by two operatives from Hebron. The organization identified the bombers as Mohammed al-Hirbawi and Shadi al-Zaghair.
Hirbawi, 20, had been arrested when he was 15 and spent two and a half years in an Israeli prison.
Hamas' announcement put an end to more than a day of speculation about the identity of the terrorists and their place of residence. A gag order remains on publishing details of the Shin Bet security service's investigation. Palestinian sources in Hebron said that the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet have arrested several relatives of the two bombers.
An examination of the bomb belts used in the attack indicated they were improvised explosive devices.
This may explain the relatively small number of casualties, even though the two bombers blew themselves up in a crowded area.
The southern part of the separation fence, between the south Hebron Hills and the eastern Negev, remains incomplete. This stems in part from environmental groups' objections to the fence on the grounds of ecological damage to the Judean Desert, and the defense establishment's budget considerations.
Construction work on the fence in this area was suspended last summer after several environmental organizations, including the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, appealed to then-defense minister Amir Peretz. The environmentalists say an actual fence is not needed in the area, and that it is possible to make do with an electronic surveillance system and patrols.
Security sources have admitted that Palestinians - whether job seekers or terrorists - can move with relative ease from the southern West Bank toward the Negev. In some cases, the Palestinians are aided by residents of Bedouin towns in the region.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak hinted Tuesday morning that the suicide bombers indeed came from Hebron. In a speech to an IDF officers' training course at Shizafon Base in the Negev, Barak said the IDF will find "a solution for terror from Hebron and for Qassams from Gaza."
Barak told the cadets: "We will bring solutions, just as your parents in the past brought solutions when they fought in the Jordan Valley." He said that the IDF is now "an army that will be victorious in any test, in every battle."
Zafrir Rinat contributed to this story.
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