|
|
  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Israel imposes restrictions on PalestiniansNew measures follow suicide bombings in Tel Aviv
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel has imposed new restrictions on Palestinians in the wake of two nearly simultaneous suicide bombings that killed at least 22 people and wounded more than 100 others in central Tel Aviv. The restrictions include closing three Palestinian universities in the West Bank, banning Palestinian vehicles from parts of the West Bank, and preventing a Palestinian delegation from traveling to London this month to meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. (Full story) Israeli forces also took action after the bombings, firing missiles at targets in Gaza and arresting suspected militants in Gaza and the West Bank. The Tel Aviv terror attacks happened about 6:30 p.m. Sunday -- the peak of rush hour -- near a closed bus station. (List of victims) Israeli police spokesman Gil Kleiman said the Tel Aviv explosions went off about 150 meters (165 yards) apart and were timed "very close." Police said 103 wounded people were evacuated from the scene. (Accounts from the scene) The neighborhood is home to a large number of immigrant workers and was the scene of another suicide attack in July that left five dead. Islamic Jihad leader, three activists capturedSeveral hours after the suicide bombings, Israeli forces fired nine missiles at targets in Gaza, witnesses said. One of the targets was a workshop. Palestinian security and medical sources said four Palestinians were injured. In the West Bank, the cities of Nablus and Bethlehem were under an early curfew, as was the part of Hebron near the settlement of Kiryat Arba. Israeli troops arrested senior Islamic Jihad leader Yusuf el Fukaha in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Israeli sources said. The sources said he is one of the top Islamic Jihad officials in the area, but they would not say if Israel believes he was involved in Sunday's suicide bombings. Israeli troops arrested two Islamic Jihad activists in Halul, near Hebron, Israeli military sources said. Israeli officials suspect the activists are linked to a December 27 attack at the Jewish settlement at Otniel in which four seminary students were killed. In Gaza, Israeli forces arrested Hassan Abu Armaneh, an Islamic Jihad activist, and demolished his home in Tel Sultan, west of Rafah, Israel Defense Forces said. Israel accuses Armaneh of being responsible for a December 20 attack in Kissufim in which one Israeli was killed. It also links him to shooting incidents and the placement of explosive devices in southern Gaza. Conflicting claims of responsibilityAt a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday, Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser, the head of military intelligence, said a Nablus-based cell from Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah militias carried out the bombings.
Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant offshoot of Fatah, initially claimed responsibility for the attacks and said the bombers were two Palestinians from Nablus. But in a fax sent later Sunday to CNN on the group's letterhead, the group denied all responsibility. "The brigade remains fully committed to the legitimate Palestinian leadership headed by Yasser Arafat and stick by it," the statement said. The U.S. State Department has designated the group a terrorist organization. The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, likewise on the State Department's list of terrorist groups, also claimed responsibility in a phone call to CNN's Beirut bureau, but its militant wing later denied the claim. After the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called an emergency meeting of his top Cabinet ministers -- Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Finance Minister Silvan Shalom. Sharon held the Palestinian Authority responsible for the terror attacks. "All attempts to lead to a cease-fire, even today, are failing due to the Palestinian leadership that continues to support, fund and initiate terror," he told a group of international students in Jerusalem. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat condemned the attacks and called on the United States for diplomatic intervention, saying "we need the help of an American administration because the trust level between us and Mr. Sharon is below zero." President Bush called the attacks "a despicable act of murder" and said that "all who genuinely seek peace in the region must join in the effort to stop terror." The White House declined to criticize Israel for retaliatory steps it took Monday after the suicide bombings, saying Israel has a right to defend itself. (Full story)
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
