(Ha'aretz) - A Palestinian suicide bomber killed 20 people, including 6 children, when he detonated an explosive packed with ball bearings Tuesday evening aboard a city bus crowded with families, many of them returning from Judaism's holiest site, the Western Wall. Israeli officials reacted to the bombing with fury and expressed frustration toward a peace plan they said was endangering their security. "Israel cannot be the perpetual testing ground for peace proposals that the Palestinians fail to implement," said Dore Gold, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. In a videotaped statement, the bomber - a Hamas militant from Hebron who served as an imam at one of the city's mosques - attributed the attack primarily to a local incident that took place in June before the ceasefire was declared. Fireworks burst over Hebron as Palestinians there celebrated the bombing. (New York Times) At least one of the dead was an American citizen. More than 110 were wounded in the attack, 40 of them children.
2003-08-20 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive