3 killed in Eilat terror attack

Three people killed as suicide bomber blows himself up in Eilat shopping center, as police search for culprits who drove bomber to scene of attack

Three people were killed and two others were critically wounded Monday morning in an suicide bombing attack that rocked a shopping area located in Eilat's Izidor neighborhood.

Police confirmed that a suicide bomber blew himself up in a bakery in the neighborhood that was bustling with shoppers at the time, dispelling earlier reports that the blast was caused by a gas cylinder.

Shattered glass was visible on the sidewalk outside, alongside bread trays scattered by the blast.

"There were four bodies at the scene, one of which belonged to the suicide bomber … The scene was terrifying," a Magen David Adom paramedic told Ynet.

Palestinian news reports identified the suicide bomber as Mohammad al-Saksak, 23, from the Gaza Strip.

According to initial police findings, the bomber had planned to blow himself up at another location but entered the bakery when a pedestrian suspected his behavior.

Two Palestinian groups, the Islamic Jihad and the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades - the military wing of President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction - claimed joint responsibility for the attack. However, Fatah spokesman Ahmad Abdul Rahman condemned the violence, saying, "We are against any operation that targets civilians, Israelis or Palestinians."

Although the Islamic Jihad said the bomber came from the West Bank, the Israeli army did not rule out the possibility that he came from the Gaza Strip and infiltrated Israel from Egypt, which he reached using tunnels dug under the Egypt-Gaza border.

A statement issued by the group, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, said the bombing "underscores the Palestinian resistance's intention to pursue Jihad (holy war) until all Palestinian lands are liberated."

A spokesman for the governing Islamic group Hamas defended Monday's bombing as legitimate "resistance" against Israel.

Fawzi Barhoum called the attack a "natural response" to Israeli military policies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as its ongoing boycott of the Hamas-led Palestinian government. "So long as there is occupation, resistance is legitimate," he said.

The attack prompted the Israel Police to raise the level of alert nationwide, amid fears that more suicide bombers could be hiding in Eilat.

Eilat District police commander Bruno Stein said: "This is an extremely serious incident which requires us to think fast. We have boosted our forces' presence in the city and are working on finding out who stands behind the bombing. Our assumption is that it's not one bomber, and there might be more bombers in Eilat right now."

The bombing is the first to strike the southernmost resort city and the first to hit Israel since last April, when a suicide bomber blew himself up near Tel Aviv's old bus station, killing eight people.

An Israeli policeman holds a piece of human flesh, covered in cloth, at the scene of an explosion in the southern city of Eilat January 29, 2007. A Palestinian suicide bomber killed three people in a bakery in the Red Sea resort of Eilat, one of Israel's most popular holiday spots, in the first such attack in the Jewish state in nine months, police said.

An Israeli policeman surveys the scene of an explosion in the southern city of Eilat January 29, 2007. A Palestinian suicide bomber killed at least three people in a bakery in Israel's Red Sea resort of Eilat on Monday, the first such attack in the Jewish state in nine months, police said. Three Palestinian militant groups claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing.

A general view of the scene of an explosion in the southern city of Eilat January 29, 2007. A Palestinian suicide bomber killed three people in a bakery in the Red Sea resort of Eilat, one of Israel's most popular holiday spots, in the first such attack in the Jewish state in nine months, police said. REUTERS/Mori Chen (ISRAEL)

Israeli police and rescue workers operate at the scene of a suicide bombing next to a bakery in Eilat, Israel. (AP Photo/Mori Chen)

Israeli police sappers investigate the scene of a suicide bombing next to a bakery in Eilat, southern Israel, Monday, Jan. 29, 2007. A Palestinian suicide bomber attacked a bakery in Eilat on Monday, killing himself and three people, police said. It was the first suicide attack in Israel in nine months and the first ever to hit Eilat, Israel's southernmost city.(AP Photo/Yehuda Ben Itah)

Eilat suicide bomber may not have meant to target bakery YAAKOV KATZ AND JPOST STAFF

Three killed in blast that rocked residential neighborhood; Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Islamic Jihad, new terror group claim attack.

Investigations into Monday morning's suicide bombing in Eilat, the first to strike Israel's southernmost city, indicated that the 21-year-old bomber (Muhammed Faisal al-Saksak, a resident of the Gaza Strip and member of the Fatah-affiliated Aksa Martyrs Brigades) may not have intended to detonate his explosives pack in a bakery, but planned to execute the attack in a more crowded area.

According to reports by security sources, at least two local residents had spotted Saksak, whose heavy coat and large bag aroused their suspicions, and called the police. Channel 2 reported that one of the people who alerted local police was the taxi driver who took Saksak into town.

Saksak, who appeared to have stopped at the bakery for coffee before reaching his final destination, blew himself up after he saw the police cars approaching.

Suicide bombings since 2001

Three people were killed but only a few wounded in the blast, which occurred at approximately 9:45 a.m.

Director of MDA in Eilat Robert Tolesco said that when paramedics had arrived on the scene, they had found no one in need of medical attention.

Three people arrived at Josephthal Hospital in Eilat following the bombing. All three required treatment for shock, and one woman was also suffering from ringing in her ears as a result of the explosion.

Josephthal Hospital: (08)635-8011

Benny Mazgini, 45, said he was in an apartment across the street when the building shook from the force of the blast.

"It was awful - there was smoke, pieces of flesh all over the place," Mazgini said.

Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, the Islamic Jihad (which, until recently, refused to sign any cease-fire agreements) and a new terror group calling itself "Army of Believers" claimed joint responsibility for the attack.

Eilat firefighter Shahar Zaid told Channel 2 that the bombing had not resulted in a blaze, and that because the bomber had blown up inside the bakery, the damage had been comparatively contained.

Eilat's police commander said his forces were working to secure the city.

"Our assumption is that it's not one bomber, and there might be more bombers in Eilat right now," Stein said.

Some two hours after the bombing, roadblocks had been erected at all entrances to and exits from Eilat. In addition, police raised the level of alert nationwide.

Police and the Shin Bet were looking into the possibility that the bomber had infiltrated Israel from the Sinai Peninsula. Global Jihad cells are known to be operating just south of Israel's border with Egypt.

Only Saturday, Egyptian security forces arrested a 17-year-old Alexandria resident who told a taxi driver in Sinai that he planned to carry out a suicide bombing in Israel.

Egypt said in response to Monday's bombing that there was "no way" that either the bomber or the explosives used could have been smuggled through Sinai, Israel Radio reported.

No suicide attacks have been carried out in Israel since April 17, 2006, when nine people were killed after a bomber blew himself up at a shwarma restaurant in Tel Aviv's old central bus station. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for that attack.

"Both the West Bank and Gaza should be closed off entirely from Israel.

Better yet the IDF should shove the 'borders' back by a kilometer using tanks, bulldozers, and bayonets for every single Israeli killed or wounded in one of these attacks."

And why shouldn't the suicide bombers continue their attacks? After all, what are the repercussions every time it happens? Basically, nothing. When a child curses their parents and they are not punished immediately, the child continues and eventually starts lashing out in worse ways. Can you imagine what would happen if every time there was a suicide bombing Israelie bombs dropped en masse from the sky unto the urban centers supporting the terrorists? Eventually, the secular leaders of the Muzzies would tell the terrorists to leave. The cost of terrorism would outwiegh the benefits of having the warring factions in one's town. The Muzzies are just taking advantage of neutered enemies, and more people die in the long run this way. Pragmatism cannot defeat such an emboldened enemy. Where are the extremists we so desperately need?

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