Suicide Blast Hits Tel Aviv Market

[David]

AP


A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded outdoor market in central Tel Aviv on Monday, killing three Israelis and wounding 32 in the first such attack since Yasser Arafat left the region for medical treatment last week.

The blast came at a time of growing concern about instability during Arafat's absence. Militants appeared to be signaling that they are setting the pace, not Arafat's stand-ins, who have been trying to convey normalcy. Israel has said that while the Palestinian leader is away it would show restraint in its battle with militants.

The ground shook in the Carmel Market as the explosion ripped through a dairy store and damaged a neighboring vegetable stall. The force of the blast blew the store's sign away, leaving loose wire dangling out of the wall. Lettuce and parsley were strewn on the pavement.

The blast occurred during the busy mid-morning, just after rush hour. Carmel is a busy outdoor market in a central part of Tel Aviv, selling produce, clothes and other goods.

Paramedics treated dazed shoppers and wheeled away bodies in black plastic bags. Rescue workers dug through piles of cheese and spices inside the store in search of body parts.

"I saw lots of people lying on the ground, lots of people wounded," shopper Michal Weizman told Israel Army Radio. "There was a woman whose entire body was torn up."

Police said four people were killed, including the bomber.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a radical PLO faction, claimed responsibility in a phone call to news media.

It was the 116th suicide bombing since the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in 2000. In all, 493 Israelis have been killed in such attacks. The last suicide bombing, in September, killed two Israeli policemen in Jerusalem.

Monday's explosion came as both Israelis and Palestinians were contemplating the possible repercussions of Arafat's departure for medical treatment in France.

The Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee in Israel's parliament dedicated its weekly session Monday to Arafat's condition. A military intelligence official testifying before the closed-door session said he believed Arafat either has cancer or a severe viral infection.

On Sunday, military intelligence chief Aharon Zeevi-Farkash raised eyebrows when he told the weekly Cabinet meeting that Arafat's "situation is between full recovery and death."

Ministers complained that they didn't need an intelligence chief for such a vague assessment. They also complained that Israel's intelligence services were taken by surprise by Arafat's health crisis.

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia convened his Cabinet and the National Security Council on Monday. Palestinian officials have been meeting daily but emphasize Arafat remains in control.

Underscoring that point, Arafat on Sunday called his finance minister, Salam Fayyad, to discuss the difficulties of the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority in meeting the monthly payroll. The call was widely seen as an effort by Arafat to say that he is still in charge.

Arafat was undergoing a fourth day of emergency treatment Monday at a French military hospital specializing in blood disorders, but the cause of his illness remained unexplained.

Palestinian officials say their leader's condition has improved markedly, and that he does not suffer from leukemia or cancer. But that has not been publicly confirmed by French physicians involved in his treatment.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told his Cabinet on Sunday that he would not allow Arafat to be buried in Jerusalem, but reiterated that Arafat would be allowed back if he recovers.

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told CNN that there are "no conditions" for Arafat's return, putting Israel's pledge on the record for the first time. Until Sunday, the promise was a murky statement by unnamed officials.

Arafat has said he wants to be buried in Jerusalem, at a disputed holy site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Haram as-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary.

Israeli security officials have expressed concern that a funeral procession in Jerusalem could spin out of control. Israel also believes a Jerusalem burial would bolster Palestinian claims to the city and further burnish Arafat's image.

Jibril Rajoub, a Palestinian security chief, called Sharon's comments a "shameful disgrace," saying it was inappropriate to discuss the burial matter while Arafat is alive.

Despite the show of unity, many Palestinians have grown disillusioned with Arafat's rule in recent years, accusing his government of favoritism and rampant corruption.

Sharon's government has shunned Arafat as a terrorist and has refused to meet with him. Saying the Palestinians had no leader interested in making peace, Sharon proposed his "unilateral disengagement" plan for leaving the Gaza Strip and four small West Bank settlements with no input from the Palestinians.

Sharon told his Cabinet that Arafat's departure would not sway him from the plan, but he would not rule out new talks with an Arafat successor.