23
Murdered by Bomb Attacks
 |
Israeli
medics rush a wounded man to an ambulance after a double
terror attack near the old bus station in Tel Aviv, Israel,
Sunday Jan. 5, 2003. The terror attacks were carried out
by two bombers who blew themselves up killing at least 22.
Some where in front of the Chinese restaurant and other
stores in the pedestrian mall.
Eli
Dasa / Reuters |
ISRAEL:
Three Chinese are among the 23 people killed and 6 are seriously
wounded among the 100 injured by Palestinian terrorists that struck
in a popular neighborhood of Tel Aviv with coffee shops and restaurants.
Mostly foreign visitors and workers were among the dead and wounded.
Two people died in Ichilov Hospital on the operating table. According
to Israeli officials, two terrorists, ages 19 and 20, were wearing
around 30 pounds of powerful explosives packed with screws, bolts
and nails to inflict the most pain and suffering on the victims.
One
terrorist blew himself up near the “McChina.” a well known Chinese
restaurant, said a witness. The explosion ripped through the structure
and blasted glass and shrapnel into people in the area.
Moshe, another eyewitness, said "A few seconds after the
first explosion, there was another explosion. I was hurled to
the floor. I saw many bodies on the ground and I ran away."
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, several people made
stretchers by pulling off doors and laying victims on them. The
attack took place during evening rush hour in an area populated
with mostly foreign workers.
The hospitals
are reporting that children are among the victims in the terror
attack and foreigners from several countries including China are
also being treated for injuries.The CRI reports that Fan Jianmin,
Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy said that two of the three Chinese
murdered in the attack are Li Peizhong, 41-year-old construction
worker, and Zhang Minmin, a business woman from East China’s Zhejiang
Province. The embassy also identified one of the three Chinese
victims as Guo Aiping.
Reporter
Arrested by Palestinian Authority
Al Jazeera
television reported that Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military
wing of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction, claimed
responsibility for the attack.
A signed statement
was shown on the network that identified the terrorists as being
from Nablus. Arafat’s security forces have in turn arrested
al Jazeera correspondent, Seif al Din Shahin in the Gaza Strip
for reporting on the claim.
Reportedly,
the journalist has since been sent to a Palestinian controlled
detention center for interrogation.
As Arafat
publicly tells the world that he denounces the terrorist bomb
attacks on Sunday, somehow the reporter managed to not only discover
the truth of Arafat’s group being responsible but was able to
release the information to other reporters which has been globally
disseminated.
If not for
the Al Jazeera correspondent, news of Fatah’s involvement
may not have been discovered as Arafat has strongly denounced
the attack as he does with all attacks that point to his organization’s
terrorist sub-division.
Israel says
the terror attack "has earned the Palestinian Authority stamp
of approval and is a direct result of persistent incitement coming
out of the Palestinian Authority and its refusal to reign in the
terrorists in its midst."
Army Radio
reported that Effi Eitam, National Religious Party chairman, has
demanded that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat be expelled from
the country immediately.
 |
A
wounded woman is given first aid at the scene of a double
homicide bombing in downtown Tel Aviv Israel Sunday Jan.
5, 2003.
Eitan Hess-Ashkenazi / AP
Photo |
Double
Palestinian Terror Attacks and Arafat’s Double Talk
The double
bombings that murdered many on Sunday, coupled with Arafat’s duplicitous
behavior and remarks, has caused Israel to prevent Arafat’s officials
from participating in talks to be taken place next week in London
with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The Israeli
cabinet voted against Palestinian participation because of the
belief that terrorists should not gain from their attacks.
Rob Prosor
of the Israeli foreign ministry told BBC Radio that, "The
logic is that the Palestinian leadership who is inciting terrorism
on a daily basis and indoctrinating a whole society should not
receive as a prize all these conferences."
The cabinet
has now drawn up new restrictions for Palestinian activities due
to the attacks, including the closure of three Islamic universities
in the West Bank.
Israel has
also stepped up military action against terrorist interests in
the Gaza Strip. Only hours after the homicide bombings, Israeli
Airforce gunships were sent out with missiles and destroyed a
suspected weapons factory disguised as a metal workshop. In Ramallah,
undercover Israeli troops arrested a senior Islamic Jihad member.
A total of 24 arrests of terrorist members have taken place so
far, at least four of those arrested are perpetrators of deadly
attacks that have taken place over the last several weeks.
A spokesperson
for the IDF told reporters that Israeli defense forces had disrupted
more than 150 attempted attacks in the past month.
–
Statement by U.S. President Bush –
January 5,
2003
Today terrorists
struck again in Israel, murdering and injuring scores of civilians
in Tel Aviv. I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms.
It is a despicable act of murder, and I express my condolences
to the government and people of Israel and especially to the families
of the victims.
Secretary
Powell has already spoken to Prime Minister Sharon to convey the
condolences of the American people. The United States remains
determined to continue our efforts toward peace in the Middle
East, a goal that the terrorists seek to destroy.
All who genuinely
seek peace in the region must join in the effort to stop terror.
The United States is determined to continue the global fight against
terrorism and against the terrorist organizations that conduct
operations such as the murders in Israel today.