Rescue services surveying the scene of yesterday's suicide attack in Be'er Sheva, in which two security guards were seriously wounded and dozens were treated for shock.
Reuters
Egypt's intelligence minister, General Omar Suleiman, is due to arrive in Gaza today in an attempt to strengthen the fragile Palestinian cease-fire, a day after a suicide bomber blew himself up in the center of Be'er Sheva. The explosion, which took place 100 meters from the city's central bus station, critically injured one security guard and seriously hurt another. Dozens of passersbyers were treated for shock in the attack, the first since Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Suleiman is due to meet with heads of the Palestinian Authority, Fatah and other organizations in the Gaza Strip, particularly Hamas. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who condemned the suicide attack, yesterday announced that the cease-fire would continue beyond the originally scheduled date of December 2005.
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The future of the cease-fire is directly connected to the internal situation in the PA and the preparations for its upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for January 25. Suleiman will try to resolve long-standing tensions between the PA and Hamas over the elections.
Informed sources said Suleiman would outline details of the understanding reached between Israel and Egypt over the future of the Philadelphi route, where Egyptian border policemen are due to take over from Israeli troops. He is also expected to discuss the handing over of the former Gaza settlements to the PA.
Dozens of Egyptian officers, including Suleiman's deputy, Mustafa al-Buheiri, are currently in the Gaza Strip, helping to prepare the Palestinian police for taking over the evacuated settlements, and preventing chaos and looting.
Suleiman is also expected to discuss with the PA the new arrangements that will go into effect at the Rafah border crossing, as well as the reopening of an airfield in Gaza. Under the arrangement being worked out, Israel will not perform security checks on Palestinians exiting the Gaza Strip, but will insist on doing so in the case of Palestinians entering Israeli territory. The intention is that they will enter the Strip from the Kerem Shalom checkpoint, which is under Israeli control and is located on the Egyptian border in the southeastern part of the Strip.
On Wednesday, Suleiman is expected to hold talks in Israel in an attempt to mediate between Israeli and Palestinian demands.
The Islamic Jihad last night took responsibility for the attack yesterday in Be'er Sheva. The organization originally said the man who carried out the suicide bombing was Ayman Za'aqiq, 25, of the village of Beit Umar, located between Bethlehem and Hebron. But a short while later, it transpired that Za'aqiq had been arrested several days ago and is currently being held by the Shin Bet security service. Late last night, the bomber was still unidentified, although security sources believed it was indeed likely that the Islamic Jihad was responsible.
In addition to the two security guards, 46 other people were wounded in the attack. The guards' quick reactions in pursuing the bomber saved dozens of lives, witnesses said. The target of the attack, mounted during the morning rush hour at the start of the work week, may have been Soroka Medical Center, also the intended target of a foiled bombing attempt earlier this year.
The bomber had aroused the suspicions of the driver on a crowded No. 9 bus. Asked by the bomber if his bus went to Soroka, the driver directed him to another line, then alerted security guards, who pursued the attacker until he set off the bomb.
"The driver signaled two security guards to go to him," Uri Bar-Lev, the police chief for southern Israel, told Army Radio. "These two security guards ultimately prevented an attack that could have been a lot worse."
The bus driver told Israel Radio the suicide bomber was carrying a heavy bag, which attracted his attention.
"I was suspicious of him, he had a large backpack and a plastic bag in his hand," a witness who identified himself as Rami told Israel Radio. "I pointed him out to the guard. He was about 20 meters from the bus when he blew up. It was a huge explosion."
Taxi driver Itzik Ohana said he was waiting for customers nearby when he saw the bomber, a man about 20, who had short hair and was dragging a heavy bag and sweating. The man frequently stopped to put the bag down and rest.
Ohana said he told a security guard about the suspicious-looking man and called the police. "While I was talking to the police there was an explosion," he said.
The blast came three days after the Islamic Jihad had sworn "painful" revenge for a raid in which IDF troops killed five Palestinians in their hideout in the West Bank city of Tul Karm. Khaled al-Batch, an Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza, said the attack "came as a natural reaction to the occupation crimes ... It is our right to retaliate."
"We are still committed to calm, but the calm is fading with the wind as a result of the Zionist violations," said Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Abdullah last night. "When they hit us, we will respond with an earthquake-like reaction."
Israeli security forces did not receive a warning about an attack in Be'er Sheva although there had been reports of a possible attack from the West Bank. Sources said Israel is not expected to react strongly to yesterday's suicide bombing.
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