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Israelis tighten security as Muslim holy month begins
January 10, 1997
Web posted at: 3:05 p.m. EST (1505 GMT)In this story:
(CNN) -- Thousands of Israeli troops patrolled near Jerusalem mosques Friday at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a day after two bombs in Tel Aviv wounded 13 people.
Ramadan -- when devout Muslims flock to mosques and fast from sunrise to sundown -- is traditionally a time of added religious fervor, putting Israeli security forces on alert for possible attacks.
In Jerusalem, tens of thousands of Palestinian worshipers dispersed quietly after attending noon prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in the walled Old City.
This year, Ramadan's start roughly coincided with the anniversary of the assassination of Yehiyah Ayyash, the chief bombmaker of the Muslim militant group Hamas.
Ayyash was killed January 5, 1996, by a rigged mobile phone in an operation widely attributed to Israel. Posters with his picture were plainly visible in the mosque compound.
No organization has claimed responsibility for the two pipe bombs that exploded Thursday in trash cans near the old bus station in central Tel Aviv.
But Palestinian radicals were suspected, and police said on Friday that forensic evidence pointed to a terrorist act. But they would not rule out an attack by a criminal gang. Ten people remained hospitalized Friday from the blasts.
Hamas, which carried out four suicide bombings that killed 63 people in February and March to avenge Ayyash, has threatened more attacks to mark the anniversary.
About 15,000 Hamas supporters turned out Friday for an Ayyash memorial rally in a sports stadium in the West Bank town of Nablus, chanting: "We want a big attack!"
The latest Israeli-Palestinian tension reverberates strongly from the distrust that dominates the current state of peace talks.
The U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and the Palestinians on a troop pullback from Hebron and a timetable for Israeli withdrawal from West Bank rural areas remained deadlocked.
"I feel great sorrow," said Palestinian Authority Minister Hassan Tahboub.
But some 400 Jewish settlers living among about 100,000 Arabs in Hebron welcomed the impasse. "We feel the negotiations will only lead to further bloodshed," said David Wilder, a spokesman for the settlers.
There were no incidents during Ramadan prayers Friday in Hebron, where an off-duty Israeli soldier shot into a crowd of Palestinians one week ago, wounding seven Arabs.
Correspondent Jerrold Kessel and Reuters contributed to this report.
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- Islamic Association for Palestine
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