"We
confirm that 19 people were killed," Israeli national police
spokesman Gil Kleiman told Agence France-Presse (AFP), adding that the
toll did not include the bomber.
The
blast went off at around 2:20 pm (1220 GMT) in the harbor city some 130
kilometers (80 miles) north of occupied Jerusalem which has a large Arab
minority.
"There
are 51 people injured and about 18 dead. Seven people were seriously
injured, two were moderately injured and 24 lightly injured," Haaretz
reported earlier quoting an Israeli spokesman.
"The
attack took place in the "Maxim" restaurant, which was packed
at the time of the blast. The restaurant is located on Ha'Haganah
Boulevard at the southern entrance to the coastal city and is owned by
Israeli Arabs," said the Israeli daily.
Israeli
police earlier said at least 30 had been wounded in the blast, a number
of them critically. Dozens of ambulances were on the scene.
As
always, an aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon held, as always,
the Palestinian Authority responsible for the bombing attack.
"This
attack illustrates once again that the Palestinian Authority totally
refuses to dismantle terrorist organizations in the sectors it
controls," claimed David Baker.
"Israel
demands that the Palestinian Authority take immediate steps to dismantle
the terrorist structures and to stop other attacks in preparation."
Exploiting
the attack, Israeli Health Minister Dany Naveh said Sharon government
should now carry through its threat against Palestinian President Yasser
Arafat.
"The
criminal attack today is certainly the occasion to carry out the
decision of the cabinet and remove Arafat," said Naveh, a Likud
member.
"It
is clear to all of us that this individual is the major obstacle to
better days ... we must carry out this decision," he claimed.
Condemned
For
their part, high-level Palestinian officials condemned the bombing and
urged a halt to all attacks against civilians.
"Arafat
and the Palestinian leadership vigorously condemn the attack at the
Maxim restaurant in Haifa, which has resulted in Israeli and Arab
civilian casualties, especially as it has taken place on the eve of Yom
Kippur," said a statement published by the official Wafa news
agency.
"President
Arafat considers this a serious attempt to compromise the national
consensus in a critical situation and (it) greatly endangers the
interests of the Palestinian people," it added.
In
a statement released earlier, Palestinian Premier-designate Ahmed Qorei
said: "We condemn this ugly operation, which targeted Arab and
Israeli civilians in the restaurant in Haifa."
"We
ask all Palestinian factions, national and Islamic, to immediately stop
these operations targeting civilians which have a negative impact on the
Palestinian cause."
Qorei,
who is due to take office next week, also called on Israel to halt its
incessant aggressions on the Palestinian people, including land
confiscation.
"We
ask the Israeli government to stop confiscating land and end its
aggression against the Palestinian people."
Senior
Palestinian official Saeb Erakat also denounced the attack and demanded
immediate international action to prevent a further escalation in
violence.
"The
Palestinian National Authority condemns this kind of attack in
Haifa," Erakat told AFP.
"We
demand that the United States and the quartet intervene immediately to
stop a further escalation and keep the roadmap on the table."
Palestinian
Victims
 |
|
The
Palestinian child lays dead in a Tulkarem hospital
|
Israeli
occupation forces gunned dawn a nine-year-old Palestinian child and a
resistance activist during a raid on a refugee camp in the northern West
Bank town of Tulkarem.
Mohammad
Barahme, 9, was killed when an Israeli unit entered the camp and opened
fire on three members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.
The
youngster, who had happened to be in the vicinity, was shot in the
chest, Israeli and Palestinian sources said.
Also
killed in the Israeli operation was Sirhan Sirhan, a member of Al-Aqsa
accused by Israel of responsibility for an attack on a kibbutz in
northern Israel 11 months ago which left five people dead.
Sirhan's
body was in the hands of Israeli security forces who were conducting an
operation in the refugee camp at Tulkarem, Palestinian said.
A
Palestinian man and an 18-month-old boy died Saturday of critical head
injuries previously sustained, Palestinian medics said.
The
child, Abdelqader al-Badrasawi, had been wounded by Israeli tank fire
last Thursday in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Said
Qassem, 42, died of injuries he had sustained six months ago when Jewish
settlers opened fire in his direction near the northern West Bank town
of Jenin.
The
new deaths bring to 2,619 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli
forces since the outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifada in September 2000.
