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Netanyahu blames terrorists for Tel Aviv blasts
Bombings could jeopardize peace talks
January 9, 1997
Web posted at: 5:20 p.m. EST (2320 GMT)TEL AVIV, Israel (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed terrorists for two bomb blasts in Tel Aviv Thursday that injured 13 people, and he suggested the incident may hinder future peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.
"According to all the signs, it appears to be a terrorist attack," he said while visiting wounded in hospital. "If it becomes clear that the terrorists who carried out this attack came from the Palestinian Authority (area), we will respond with extreme severity."
Netanyahu said he cut short talks in Tel Aviv with U.S. peace envoy Dennis Ross when he received reports of the explosions. Ross is negotiating an Israel-PLO deal on self-rule in the West Bank town of Hebron.
Tel Aviv police told CNN earlier in the day they were speculating that the blasts might be the work of a criminal syndicate in the neighborhood, but had not ruled out the possibility of terrorism.
Asked if the bombings would affect the talks, which have languished for months, Netanyahu said: "We will wage the battle against the terrorists and we will also check if these terrorists came from the area of the Palestinian Authority.
"(If they did), it should not be automatically assumed that we will carry on," he said, referring to peace negotiations with the PLO.
The Israeli leader has often said the pace of the peace process begun by the previous Labor-led government depended on Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's ability to curb attacks against Israel.
National Police Chief Assaf Hefetz said the bombs were packed with nails and blew up 10 minutes and several yards apart, described as hallmarks of a "terrorist" bombing.
One blast occurred next to an adult movie theater in a run down area near an abandoned bus station. Many non-Israeli workers live nearby.
"There was a very strong explosion under the Central Cinema, in a snack bar. A few minutes later, there was another blast," a witness told Army Radio.
"It was a tremendous explosion. A sunflower seed seller was hurt. Police arrived five minutes later. As they were checking things, another bomb went off and a policeman was hurt," said another witness.
A spokeswoman for Tel Aviv's Ichilov hospital said 10 people were hurt, none seriously; three other people who were slightly wounded were taken to another hospital.
Muslim militant groups had vowed to avenge last week's shooting attack in Hebron by an off-duty Israeli soldier who wounded seven Palestinians in what he said was an attempt to stop Israel from carrying out its long-overdue troop redeployment.
Palestinian militants last mounted a bombing campaign in Israel in February and March last year when suicide bombers killed 59 people.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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