Israeli Police have decided to significantly increase their presence in central Jerusalem following Sunday suicide bombing in which one person aged 81 was killed and over 100 injured. According to Haaretz, additional forces will be brought in from around the country, with the goal of making residents and business owners feel safe and secure once again on the central Jaffa Street.
Meanwhile, the identity of the suicide attack is still unclear. Lebanese Resistance Party (Hezbollah)'s television station Al Manar reported that the suicide bomber responsible for Sunday's attack was 20-year-old Shainaz al Amudi, 20, a female student from Nablus.
This was first suicide attack carried out by a Palestinian woman. She studied at the A-Najah University in Nablus, defined as a "hothouse for suicide bomber" by the Israeli Shin Bet security services. At least six of the 120 suicide bombers who have carried out attacks against Israeli targets were students at the university, which is also considered a Hamas stronghold.
Police described the device al Amudi was carrying as massive, and a woman's arm was among the human debris found in the street among other body parts.
No group took immediate responsibility for the Jerusalem attack, and Hamas leader in Gaza, Mahmoud Al Zahar, refused to say whether his organization was behind the bombing, saying only that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "destroys homes and kills innocent people, and then the Palestinians come and carry out suicide bombing attacks into Israel".
Activists Released
Meanwhile, a few hours after the attack in Jerusalem, a crowd of more than 100 Palestinians, shouting and cheering, succeeded in releasing seven activists from jail in Bethlehem, including one the men most wanted by Israel.
According to AFP, the crowd released the men from jail after all but a skeleton crew had left the building, anticipating retaliatory strikes from Israel following Sunday’s suicide bombing attack in west Jerusalem.
The seven released included Yahya Dahamsa, a member of Yasser Arafat's Fatah group.
Dahamsa is one of 33 activists on Israel's most wanted list handed to the Palestinian Authority for immediate arrest during US peace envoy Anthony Zinni's November-December visit to the region, Palestinian security sources said.
Cheney
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney suggested on Sunday that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and his assistants are working together with Iran and the Hizbullah to get weapons for the Palestinian Authority, according to AP.
Despite the fact that the Vice President said he was not sure whether Arafat went to Iran first or vice versa, Cheney affirmed, “I know where he acquired the weapons. He did acquire the weapons from Iran.”
“The really disturbing part of this, of course, is that there are a lot of places he could go in the Arab world if he were looking for support and sustenance or for help in moving the peace process forward,” Cheney told "Fox News Sunday.”
“Clearly, he hasn't done that. What he's done is gone to a terrorist organization, Hizbullah, and a state that supports and promotes terrorism, that's dedicated to ending the peace process, Iran, and done business with them,” he made clear.
Cheney also raised questions about Arafat's knowledge regarding the Karine A, a weapons ship from Iran that was seized on January 3 by Israeli commandos. The Palestinian leader has not acknowledged responsibility, but “based on the intelligence we've seen, the people that were involved were so close to him it's hard to believe that he wasn't involved”, Cheney remarked.
“The latest example of the escalating violence in the Middle East, much of it prompted by Palestinian suicide bombers, raises serious questions whether Mr. Arafat is in fact really interested in moving forward with the peace process,” Cheney said, referring to the recent suicide bombing in West Jerusalem. “Arafat must take the first step to prove he is making an effort to quell the violence and bring peace to the region,” he added.
Arafat must take the first step to prove he is making an effort to calm the violence and bring peace to the region, Cheney pointed out. Arafat “must aggressively rout out the infrastructure of the terrorist organizations in Palestine and arrest those known to plan or support such acts”, he conveyed. Arafat “must do everything he could, make a 100 percent good-faith effort to put an end to terrorism,” Cheney declared, “So far he hasn't done that.”
In an interview on PBS's “NewsHour With Jim Lehrer” over the weekend, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell reiterated President George Bush's remarks that Arafat must take measures to rout out terror. Powell said that, “This is in some ways a moment of truth for Chairman Arafat”. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
