Explosion Rocks Israeli Town
Nov. 22 -- An explosion rocked the Israeli town of Hadera today killing at least two and injuring more than 36 people, a local Israeli official said.
Israeli TV reported that a car bomb went off next to a bus on Hadera’s main Hanassi Street. An Israel Radio reporter at the scene said a bus wasdestroyed and nearby stores damaged.
“We have a terrorist attack in Hadera,” a police spokesmansaid. Black smoke rose over the town, halfway between thecities of Tel Aviv and Haifa, as ambulances rushed to the scene of the blast which occurred during the evening rush hour.
Hanoch Sasson, the acting mayor of Hadera, told Israeli television: “What I can say at the moment from the scene is that there are many wounded. There are apparently two killed officially.”
The car that carried the bomb is now a pile of twisted, smoking metal, Israeli TV reported. The blast was so powerful, it caused the bus to slam into a nearby store. Several stores also caught fire.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion, although Izz el-Deen al-Qassam, the military wing of the militant Islamic group Hamas, said in a statement earlier today it would bring death to every Israeli home.
But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said the Palestinian Authority was to blame for the car bombing.
“Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak said thatthis is another barbaric attack aimed at innocent civilians,” Barak’s office said in a statement.
“The responsibility for the attack lies upon the Palestinian Authority which released terrorists, members of Hamas and Jihad, and encourages and directs its people to carry out attacks,” the statement said.
Palestinian Authority Denies Role
The Palestinian Authority said it was not involved in the Hadera bombing.
“We reject Barak’s accusations and we denounce them,” an official source in the Palestinian self-rule government said today. “He blames the Palestinian Authority each time for acts it is not linked to in order to justify the continuation of his army’s aggression on our people.”
