At least nine people were reported killed, not including the terrorist bomber and at least 60 were wounded, 15 seriously in an attack on a sandwich shop in Tel Aviv's Neve Sha'anan neighborhood. Two people are still in critical condition as a result of the large blast.
The bomb was detonated at the same fast food falafel resturant that was the victim of a Palestinian suicide attack four months ago. Magen David director Elie Bin described the wounds as especially serious because of the force of the explosion and the nails and metal pieces packed with the explosives, to create maximum carnage.
It's also usual for the Palestinians to coat the shrapnel with rat poison.
`Credit' for the attack was claimed by Jihad Islami and Fatah's al Aksah faction. it's not unusual for these people to collaborate on an `operation'.
The suicide bomber was Mohammed Sami Salim, 16, from Jenin. According to an eyewitness, a security guard stopped and searched Hammed at the entrance to the resturant. Hammed, according to the witness, detonated a bag containing a bomb at the entrance. If he'd been able to get inside, there would have been a lot more deaths.
As I noted before, Islamic Jihad is being used as a proxy for Hamas so that Hamas can maintain the fiction of a truce.
And those of you who read my piece yesterday J O S H U A P U N D I T: Hamas can't get no satisfaction...
now have an answer on what Khaled Meshaal and Hamas decided to do when Iran made demands on them in exchange for funding. Look for more of the same, as Hamas accedes to iran's demands. Another clue is that Hamas apparatchnik Khaled Abu Helal, spokesman for the Interior Ministry called the attack `legitimate self defense.'
The blast took place on the day the Knesset, Israel's parliament was being sworn in.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert responded to the first terror attack of his short tenure by saying that, "We will know how to respond. We know what to do."
The Israelis proved in the last election that they've mostly given up the pleasant fairy tale of living in peace someday next to the Palestinians. The next illusion to go will be the comforting belief that they can wall themselves off from this den of rattlers and ignore them.
When the Israelis realize that, they might just end up with an appropriate response to these attacks. And solve the problem once and for all.
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