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8
Israelis Killed, 62 Injured In Jerusalem Blast
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Israeli
medics carrying one of the wounded
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Additional
Reporting By Mohammad Yassin, IOL Correspondent
OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, February 22 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Eight
Israelis were killed and up to 62 others injured when a Palestinian
blew himself up aboard a crowded bus in Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)
early on Sunday, February 22.
The
bombing came as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set
Monday, February 23, to look into the legality of a wall Israel is
building in the West Bank, which at points juts deep into Palestinian
territory, cutting off entire villages from West Bank hospitals,
schools and jobs.
A
spokesman for the Magen David Adom, the Israeli equivalent of the Red
Cross, said 11 were critically wounded, 14 badly hurt and 29 lightly
injured in the attack on the number 14 bus near the King David Hotel,
reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Fatah’s
armed wing al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is said to have claimed the
attack, but Aljazeera satellite channel quoted an official with the
resistance movement as denying responsibility.
The
operation was carried out by Mohammad Zuhul, a 23-year-old building
laborer who left a toddler and wife behind, AFP said.
The
Israeli radio said that the blast ripped through the back of the bus
during the morning rush hour at around 8:30 a.m., when it passed past
a fuel station.
Ambulances
rushed to the scene of the blast and were busy ferrying the injured
with Israeli medics saying that 20 Israelis were in a critical
condition.
TV
footage showed body parts scattered across the street as Israeli
police have sealed off the area and let loose sniff dogs.
Israel's
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz called a meeting with the country's top
security officials, saying it is aimed to “decide on reprisals for
the attack”.
The
operation is the first since January 29 car
bomb in Al-Quds near the official residence of Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon. The operation killed ten Israelis.
Condemnations
The
bus bombing drew condemnations from the Palestinian Authority and
across the world as Hamas said the operation was a “natural
response” to the almost daily crimes and massacres of the Israeli
occupation soldiers against the Palestinians.
“The
prime minister denounces targeting civilians on both sides and calls
on the Israeli government to immediately endorse a mutual ceasefire
and resume the implementation of the roadmap ... to stop the bloodshed
faced by both people,” the office of Palestinian Prime Minister
Ahmad Qorei said.
Pope
John Paul II called on authorities and citizens alike to reject the
“absurd dynamic of violence” undermining the Middle East peace
process, the Vatican said.
John
Paul “strongly deplores the new savage attack committed in
[occupied] Jerusalem and assures the victims' families of his
spiritual closeness,” according to a Vatican statement.
Russia
said it firmly condemned Sunday's bombing, calling on the Palestinian
authorities to “take all necessary measures” to stop violence, and
on Israel to show restraint in its military operations.
British
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also condemned the operation as a
“terrible outrage”, adding it damages the Palestinian cause.
French
Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin also denounced the bombing
“with the greatest firmness”.
United
Nations Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen also condemned the attack,
which he called a “war crime”.
But
Hamas’ senior official Sayed Siyam told IslamOnline.net over the
phone that the bombing is a “natural response” to the almost daily
crimes and massacres of the Israeli occupation soldiers against the
Palestinians.
Khidr
Habib, a Hamas member, also said that the Palestinians are fairly
entitled to defend themselves against the daily aggression of the
Israeli occupation army.
A
military source with Ezzudin Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of
Hamas, said shortly after the blast that the “killing, slaying or
kidnapping is the fate of every Zionist occupying Palestine”.
The
source neither confirmed nor denied Hamas’ responsibility for the
operation, adding that the resistance movement was “working round
the clock and trying its best to liberate the occupied Palestinian
territories”.
Though
quick to condemn any Palestinian operation in Israel, the
international community, however, stopped short of condemning the
Israeli massacre in the Gaza Strip last month, which killed at least
13 Palestinians.
Timing
Israel
seized on the incident and immediately said the attack justified the
building its controversial West Bank wall, while the Palestinian
premier made clear that the timing could not have been worse for his
government.
“This
attack shows that the construction of the security fence is
indispensable. Where there is no fence it's horrible. Where the fence
has been built, results are clear cut,” said Foreign Affairs
Minister Silvan Shalom on military radio.
“That
is why we will go on building this fence because it saves lives,” he
added.
Israel
has submitted a written deposition to the ICJ in The Hague, which is
meeting at
the behest of the U.N. General Assembly, but refuses to make a
personal representation.
Israeli
Justice Minister Tommy Lapid said the attack “is the response to
those meeting in The Hague to judge the State of Israel. It is not the
state of Israel which should be tried or placed in the dock, but
Palestinian terrorism.”
Palestinians,
on the other hand, expressed confidence of victory in this week's
world court hearing, insisting the latest operation would not
undermine their cause.
The
Palestinians are planning a three-hour presentation at the start of
the case on Monday, which is likely to include a visual presentation
of the impact on the lives of West Bank residents.
Khidr
Habib told IOL that the bombing will not affect the Palestinian case
before the world court.
He
said Israel has been violating relevant United Nations Security
Council resolutions for 50 years, believing that the court’s ruling
would be in favor of the Palestinians.
Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) legal advisor Michael Tarazi, who is
part of the Palestinian delegation in The Hague, said that they were
not disputing Israel's right to defend itself by building a barrier on
its territory.
“This
case is not about whether Israel has the right to build a wall on its
own territory; it has every right to do so,” Tarazi told AFP.
“If
the wall was built on the Green Line, we would not be here,” he
added in reference to the 1949 armistice line between Israel and the
Palestinian territories.
Tarazi
said that he had “full confidence that the world court will .. not
be swayed by political pressure” and back off from delivering a
verdict.
Azmi
Bishara, an Arab member of the Israeli parliament who is attending the
hearings, said that even though any judgment would only be advisory,
it would be a major blow for the Israelis from the “highest legal
body in our world”.
The
first phase of the controversial barrier was completed in July 2003 in
the northern West Bank .
The
defiant Israeli government of Ariel Sharon approved
last October a new 100-million-dollar section of the controversial
barrier.
The
Palestinians – backed by a large part of the international community
– maintain that the wall, which cuts deep into the West Bank, is
nothing but an Israeli land-grab and a bid to pre-empt the borders of
their future state.
In
September 2003, a U.N. report branded
the wall as illegal annexation of Palestinian territory and
must be condemned by the world community.
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