Four dead as attacks rock Middle East peace process
At least four people have died and 12 injured in two separate attacks by suicide bombers in Israel.
A suicide bomber and at least one other person were killed in a blast at a shopping centre in the Israeli town of Rosh Haayin near Tel Aviv.
At least ten people were injured in the explosion, which occurred at about 0900 local time (07 00 BST) this morning.
Police believe the bomber detonated the charge he was carrying after being challenged by a security guard.
The explosion caused a fire in shopping centre. Israeli firefighters battled the blaze, as casualties were pulled free.
A local branch of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade later claimed responsibility for the blast.
Israeli police have arrested a man believed to have driven the suicide bomber to the site.
Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner condemned the attack as “murderous”, adding, “This is the result of the inaction on the part of the Palestinian Authority. They have not dismantled terrorist organisations.”
Less than an hour later a suspected suicide bomber blew himself up in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Ariel.
The suicide bomber appears to have driven a car packed with explosives to a hitchhiking station at the entrance to the settlement and detonated the device when guards fired on him.
The bomb killed an Israeli and injured two others waiting at the station, as well as the bomber.
The attacks threaten to shatter the delicate ceasefire declared by the major Palestinian militant groups on June 29th.
There have been far fewer attacks on Israeli civilians since the ceasefire was declared.
However, there have been some disturbances, including today’s attacks and a suicide bombing in central Israel on July 7th, which killed an elderly woman.
On Friday, the armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas called on members to avenge the death of two of its leaders killed in an Israeli army raid in the West Bank town of Nablus.
Hamas has claimed responsibility for the second bombing but said it had no involvement in the first.
Following the bombings, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has said there will be no advance towards peace unless the Palestinian Authority takes action to disarm and disband militant groups which he blamed for the attacks.
Mr Sharon has delayed the release of 76 Palestinian prisoners, who he had agreed to free under the terms of the peace plan.
Palestinian prime minister Abu Mazen condemned the bombings but suggested that recent Israeli raids into the West Bank had provoked militants.
Palestinian and Israeli leaders have been working towards implementation of the US-led “roadmap” for peace, which outlines steps towards an independent Palestinian state by 2005.
