OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, January 5 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Twenty people
were killed and around 100 wounded Sunday, January 5, in a double
resistance attack in downtown Tel Aviv during the evening rush hour.
The
blasts struck in rapid succession during rush hour on Nevi Shaanan
Street in a poor district of the city with a large immigrant
population, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
two Palestinians set off their charges on a crowded street near Tel
Aviv's Old Central Bus Station Sunday evening.
Israeli
sources said that foreign workers who work in Israeli factories are
among the dead and the injured, adding that shops in the area were
seriously damaged.
No
official claim of responsibility
The
leader of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad stopped short of
claiming responsibility.
"So
far we have no information to confirm or deny the responsibility of
the Jerusalem Brigades (Islamic Jihad's armed wing) for this
operation," Ramadan Shallah told the Qatar-based satellite
television Al-Jazeera.
"So
far no official statement has been published by the Jerusalem Brigades
claiming this operation," he said.
Earlier
an anonymous caller purporting to represent Islamic Jihad had
telephoned AFP in the West Bank town of Jenin to claim responsibility,
adding that an official statement would follow.
But
another caller from the larger Islamic resistance group Hamas rang AFP
in occupied Jerusalem shortly afterwards to say it carried out the
attack.
"We
declare responsibility for the attack in Tel Aviv. We promise
the Israeli occupation army more attacks in the next month," the
caller said, speaking in English.
But
speaking in Gaza City, senior Hamas figure Abdel Aziz Rantissi could
not immediately confirm his organization's involvement.
Likewise,
Mahmoud Al Zahar, a Hamas leader, said to Al-Jazeera that there
was no statement issued by Hamas to adopt this attack was released.
Chaos
at the attack scene
Israeli
police forces rushed to the area and started searching the surrounding
neighborhoods in search for any one related to the attack.
Tel
Aviv head police said all roads leading to scene of the attack were
closed, adding that ambulances were finding difficulty to reach the
scene because of the chaos in the streets.
Israeli
television channel 1 said that the state of chaos also reached the
security forces.
The
attack comes days after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered
his occupation army to strike harder against Palestinians, as a report
accused the Israeli army of giving its forces free hand to kill
innocent Palestinian civilians.
Sharon
told the weekly cabinet meeting on Saturday, December 29, that the
crackdown on Palestinian activists must be reinforced.
Palestinian
Authority, Bush condemn the Attack, Egypt blames Israel
The
Palestinian Authority condemned the double bombings in Tel Aviv,
saying it would pursue with firmness those who were behind them.
The
Palestinian leadership "denounces with force the condemnable
operation that has targeted Israeli civilians," a statement said.
President
George W. Bush on Sunday condemned the bombing as a "brutal act
of terror," the White House said.
Bush
"condemned the brutal act of terror in the strongest possible
terms," a White House spokesman said.
Meanwhile,
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said the bombing was the result
of Israel's abuses against the Palestinians.
He
was speaking to reporters after a meeting here with the head of
Israel's Meretz left-wing opposition party, Yossi Sarid, and former
Israeli justice minister Yossi Beilin.
"The
Israelis should understand that the continuation of abuses fuels
violence and the continuation of operations such as the one
today," Maher said.
"Egypt
condemns all attacks on civilians, whether they are Palestinians --
which is most often the case -- or Israeli civilians," he added.
