MIDDLE EAST: The Israeli military wants to renew its policy of demolishing the homes of bombers and plans to step up targeted assassinations and arrest raids in the West Bank, in response to a suicide bombing in the coastal town of Netanya yesterday that killed five Israelis and injured 50.
The bomber, Lutfi Amin Abu-Saada (23), from a village near the West Bank city of Tul Karm, blew himself up at 11.30am outside the Hasharon shopping mall, which has been the scene of several previous suicide attacks.
Passersby, who spotted a man walking "like a robot" and with his hand in a bag, shouted to security guards at the entrance to the shopping centre to stop him. The guards prevented the man from entering and pushed him up against a wall. As nearby police officers ran to assist, the bomber detonated his explosives-laden bag.
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying it was retaliation for the killing of their leaders by Israel. With Hamas focused on campaigning ahead of Palestinian parliamentary elections in January, most attacks in recent months have been carried out by Islamic Jihad.
Israeli government officials accused the Palestinian Authority of failing to disarm militant groups. "At this point, they have absolutely no intention of dealing properly with the terror infrastructure, and therefore the defence establishment will continue with operations against the Jihad infrastructure," said defence minister Shaul Mofaz.
In a statement released by his office, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas condemned the bombing as causing "the most serious harm to our commitment to the peace process". The Palestinian Authority, he added, would "not go easy on whoever is found to be responsible for this operation".
The bombing had an immediate impact on the election agenda in Israel - elections are set for March 28th - shifting public attention away from social issues and back to security matters, which have traditionally dominated elections.
Labor Party leader Amir Peretz, who has set the agenda over the last month by highlighting the plight of the poor, was scrambling yesterday to sound tough on Palestinian violence. He called for an "uncompromising war" on terror and then gathered together several former generals in the party for consultation.