Suicide bomber attacks Israeli mall
A suicide bomber has attacked a mall in the northern Israel town of Afula injuring 10 and killing three people.
The suicide bomber, reportedly a woman, blew herself up in the Emakim mall just a day after a suicide attack onboard a bus in Jerusalem killed seven passengers.
Israel had already sealed its border with the West Bank and Gaza Strip before today’s attack.
The blast is likely to cause yet more disruption to the American-led ‘roadmap’ for peace and the tentative talks between Palestinian and Israeli leaders that restarted last week. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon postponed a trip to Washington after yesterday’s attack.
The town of Afula is close to the West Bank border and has been the scene of several past attacks.
The blast occurred at around 1715 local time (1415 GMT). The suicide bomber appears to have been prevented from entering the mall by a security guard and blew herself up at the entrance.
Meanwhile, a further attack reportedly injured three soldiers in the Gaza Strip today when a Palestinian suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up by an army jeep near the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom.
The Israeli government has blamed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for the Jerusalem bus bombing and has stated that it will not accept any foreign leader that meets with him. However, the government still intends to continue talks with newly-elected prime minister Mahmoud Abbas.
