A Passover Gift From Islamic Jihad

Yahoo News has this updated report from about an hour ago. It seems that Islamic Jihad did not want to be left out of any Passover celebrations this weekend in Israel:

A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up outside a fast-food restaurant in a bustling area of Tel Aviv during the Passover holiday Monday, killing nine other people and wounding dozens in the deadliest Palestinian attack in more than a year.

The new Palestinian government, led by Hamas, called the attack a legitimate response to Israeli "aggression."

Israel said it held Hamas ultimately responsible — even though a different militant group, Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility — and would respond "as necessary."

"We shall, of course, continue to use all means at our disposal to prevent every other attempt," Israeli Prime Minister-designate Ehud Olmert said.

Israeli defense chiefs were to consult later Monday, but security officials said a possible reoccupation of Gaza, the base of the new Hamas government, was not being considered.

The White House strongly condemned the attack, calling it "a despicable act of terror for which there is no excuse or justification."

A security guard posted outside the restaurant, the target of a suicide bombing in January, prevented Monday's bomber from entering the building, police said.

It was the first suicide attack in Israel since the Hamas militant group took over the Palestinian government 2 1/2 weeks ago. Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in attacks, has largely observed a cease-fire since February 2005.

Islamic Jihad, which is believed to be funded in part by Iran and refuses to observe a cease-fire, claimed responsibility in a telephone call to The Associated Press. The group identified the bomber as Sami Hammad, 21, from the West Bank village of Arakeh.

In a video released by the group, Hammad said the bombing was dedicated to the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

"There are many other bombers on the way," he said.

Hammad, appearing to be in his teens, was dressed in black and wore a headband with yellow Quranic verses written on it.

Hammad's family said he had studied social work in a distance-learning program but was forced to quit because of money problems. His mother, Samiya, said she saw no warning signs her son was involved with a militant group.

After learning of the bombing, family members began moving furniture and belongings out of their home, fearing it would be demolished by the Israeli military.

Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for all six of the previous suicide attacks inside Israel since the cease-fire was declared. On Sunday, the group pledged to carry out more attacks.

The response by Hamas leaders represented a sharp departure from the previous Palestinian leadership's immediate condemnations of such attacks.

"We think that this operation ... is a direct result of the policy of the occupation and the brutal aggression and siege committed against our people," said Khaled Abu Helal, spokesman for the Hamas-led Interior Ministry.

Earlier, Moussa abu Marzouk, a Hamas leader abroad, told Al-Jazeera television that "the Israeli side must feel what the Palestinian feels, and the Palestinian defends himself as much as he can."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of the rival Fatah Party, condemned the bombing, calling it a "terrorist attack." He said he ordered the Palestinian security forces to try to prevent more attacks.

"These kinds of attacks harm the Palestinian interest, and we as an authority and government must move to stop it," he said. "We will not stop pursuing anyone who carries out such attacks."

The bomber struck at about 1:40 p.m. at "The Mayor's Falafel" restaurant, which was targeted in a Jan. 19 attack that wounded 20 people. The restaurant is in the Neve Shaanan neighborhood near Tel Aviv's central bus station, which was crowded with holiday travelers.

Police said the restaurant hired a security guard after the earlier bombing.

The bomber, carrying a bag stuffed with 10 pounds of explosives, approached the guard at the restaurant's entrance, witnesses said. As he was being checked, he detonated the explosives. Police said the guard was torn in half by the blast.

"I saw a young man starting to open his bag. The guard begins opening the bag, and then I heard a boom," witness Moussa al Zidat said.

Witness Israel Yaakov said the blast killed a woman standing near her husband and children.
"The father was traumatized. He went into shock. He ran to the children to gather them up and the children were screaming, 'Mom! Mom!' and she wasn't answering. She was dead already ... It's a shocking scene," Yaakov said.

Another witness, 62-year-old Sonya Levy, said she had just finished shopping when the blast occurred.

"I was about to get into my car, and boom! There was an explosion. A bit of human flesh landed on my car and I started to scream," she said.

Her car was 50 yards from the explosion and its windshield was smeared with blood.

Olmert said the blast came as no surprise.

"It's not something that we didn't fear would happen, we know the terrorist organizations groups continue at every moment to look for opportunities to carry out attacks inside Israel," he said. "The security forces are deployed in every corner, every place, but we also know that there is no way we can always prevent such attacks, under all circumstances, in every case."

Police said 10 people, including the bomber, were killed. Medics said nine of the injured were in serious condition.

The wounded were treated on sidewalks. One man was lying on his side, his shirt pushed up and his back covered by bandages. A bleeding woman was wheeled away on a stretcher. A dazed-looking man walked near the site, his white T-shirt splattered with blood.

The blast shattered the windshields of nearby cars and the windows of nearby buildings. The ground was covered with glass shards and blood. The sign of the restaurant's building was blown away.
While rescue crews tended to the wounded, a helicopter hovered overhead and a marksman took position on the roof of the targeted building.

Later, Israeli police stopped a car carrying three Palestinians suspected of aiding the bomber, officials said. The car, identified by witnesses at the scene of the attack, was stopped on a highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, police said.

Monday's bombing was the deadliest since Aug. 31, 2004, when suicide bombers on two buses in Beersheba killed 16 Israelis.

It was the second major Passover bombing in four years. In 2002, a Palestinian bomber blew himself up at a hotel in coastal Netanya, killing 29 people. That attack triggered a major Israeli military offensive.

Palestinian militants have carried out nine suicide attacks in Israel and the West Bank since a Feb. 8, 2005, truce declaration. All but one attack have been carried out by Islamic Jihad.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Gideon Meir said Israel held Hamas ultimately responsible for such attacks because it is "giving support to all the other terrorist organizations."

"From our point of view it doesn't matter if it comes from Al Aqsa, Islamic Jihad or Hamas. They all come out of the same school of terrorism led by Hamas," he said.

More from Ha'aretz:

The bomb, laced with nails and other projectiles, shattered car windshields, smashed windows of nearby buildings and blew away the restaurant's sign. Glass shards and blood splattered the ground. Police said the guard was killed by the blast.

Another witness, Israel Yaakov, said the blast killed a woman standing near her husband and children, who were lightly wounded.

"The father was traumatized, he went into shock. He ran to the children to gather them up and the children were screaming, 'Mom! Mom!' and she wasn't answering, she was dead already... it's a shocking scene."

Indeed. Hamas has done little, if anything, to deal with the militants within its own ranks, let alone the militants in other groups. They have not taken any steps to crack down on the terrorists still operating in Gaza, and on the heels of last week's story regarding a possible civil war in Gaza, Abbas has done nothing to discourage such violence. He, clearly, can do nothing to affect the groups in Gaza who still just plain hate Jews. And that is their only "asset" in life is how much they hate the Israelis.

Fatah and Islamic Jihad have announced they would work towards disarming their militants, but that promise is as empty as a politician's word that he will work for the better at election time. Hamas also promised they would deal with their own, and has yet to do it. So, the empty vows come ringing through loud and clear; there is no desire for change or peace, but rather a maintaining of the status quo.

And, of course, this strategy that the Palestinians are playing (Hamas pledges peace while other militants go on the warpath, and as long as they take no blame, they stay in power. If they fall from power, another steps in, and Hamas picks up where their successor left off. It is like an ongoing Three Stooges routine) is one that seems to be currying a great deal of favor. Over the weekend, Iran pledged $50 million in aid. And this comes as no surprise as the same militant groups embraced by the Palestinians are the same ones that sit on part of Iran's payroll to begin with.

In Iran's ongoing shadow war against Israel, it is integral to keep Hamas right where they are. They serve as a political front to a murderous group of ideologues determined to help Ahamdinejad accomplish his threat of wiping Israel from the face of the planet. The PA under Arafat specifically stated that they would push Israel "into the sea." So, for the people who were hoping for change, it is not coming. And for people in the US that are patting themselves on the back for withdrawing millions in funds that were earmarked to the PA, while it is a smart move on our part, the EU, Iran, and Russia do not seem to care that there money--that influx of cash for a near-bankrupt Hamas--is going to be used against the Israelis, and little, if any, will be received by the people for the vital necessities that they claimed to need it for in the first place.

Furthermore, despite what their moonbat supporters state, Hamas and the PA, in general, have shown time and again that they do not desire peace, nor a rational co-existence with Israel. They hate the Israelis, and will continue to fund and execute these attacks. Israel, in response, should simply wall them off, and double their guards; taking the steps necessary to ensure that attacks like this do not happen again. Or, the world needs to shut up and let both sides fight it out, openly, and may the best side win. When it is all said and done, Israel needs to look at world bodies like the UN and EU when they start to complain about the violence, and issue instructions to be silent. Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, and the rest of the mouseketeer roll-call have this coming. They deserve precisely that sort of response from Israel as I am sure they are as sick of getting nipped at by the dogs they try to make nice with.

This time, that overture cost Israel nine lives, and dozens upon dozens of wounded people. And on one of the holiest of weekends for the Jews. This should send a clear message to the world that not only is Hamas wholly unable and unwilling to reign in the militants, but that even the basic idea of decency during a holy time of the year cannot be extended. If Israel had attacked them during their holy days, condemnation would have spread far and wide; possibly even from the White House.

The Bunny ;)