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Occupied Jerusalem Blasts Kill
7, Sharon Delays Trip
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Police and investigators work on the scene of an attack in a bus in the French Hill neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem
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OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, May 18 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Sunday, May 18, cancelled a crucial
trip to Washington following a double attack which killed 7 people and
injured 20 in Occupied Jerusalem plus the two bombers, said an
official Israeli source.
The
operation took place just as Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas
and his Israeli counterpart ended their talks Saturday, May 17,
without reaching any conclusions.
At
least four of the wounded were in serious condition, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) quoted the Israeli public radio as saying.
The
blast blew apart a bus just before the morning rush hour in the French
Hill neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem.
A
second bomber blew himself up almost simultaneously in Aram, a
Palestinian village just north of French Hill, killing only himself.
Occupied
Jerusalem Police Chief Micky Levy told Israeli public radio that the
bomber was probably heading towards French Hill but detonated his
explosives prematurely due to the huge security deployment.
In
consequence, Sharon cancelled a crucial trip to Washington following
the attack.
“The
prime minister postponed his trip to the United States, where he was
due to hold talks with U.S. President George W. Bush, due to a wave of
terrorist attacks,” a statement said, without specifying a new date
for the visit.
On
Saturday, May 17, Israeli troops shot and killed two armed
Palestinians who had injured two Israelis after infiltrating the West
Bank Jewish settlement of Shearei Tikwah near the demarcation line
with Israel.
One
of the injured Israelis was said to be in serious condition.
Also
on Saturday, a Palestinian man killed a settler couple in Al-Khalil
(Hebron).
Security
forces in the main square of Hebron's Jewish sector noticed a man
dressed as a religious Jew, who was acting strangely, and approached
him, Israeli radio said.
The
man fled and shortly afterwards detonated his explosives, it added.
Abdual
Aziz al-Rantisi told IslamOnline.net that “the double martyrdom
operations came as self-defense”, noting that the Palestinian
resistance will go non-stop as long as the Israeli occupation existed.
Asked
whether the double bombings are linked to Abbas-Sharon meeting,
Rantisi said they have nothing to do with the meeting, given that such
operations “cannot be carried out overnight and need some time for
planning.”
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