Two Palestinian civilians and an Israeli officer were killed on Thursday by a suicide bomber who blew himself up at an army checkpoint set up to avert a major attack during a Jewish festival.
The bombing near the northern West Bank town of Tulkarem served to further undermine a shaky truce as the army pounded the northern Gaza Strip with artillery fire in order to impose a ”no-go zone” and prevent rocket attacks.
A spokesperson for the army said three other soldiers were wounded in the checkpoint attack, one of whom was in a serious condition.
Apart from the bomber, the other Palestinian victims were the driver of the taxi that the bomber had been travelling in and another passenger. A further five Palestinians were also wounded.
The force of the blast was so large that the army had initially said it was the work of two bombers.
A military source said the bomber had been travelling in a taxi which was stopped at an impromptu checkpoint.
After being ordered out of the vehicle and asked to open his coat, he then detonated a suicide belt packed with explosives and nails.
Forces had been placed on a state of alert over the possibility of an attack inside Israel during the Hannukah festival of light which ends on January 2.
The army said that the bomber had intended to blow himself up ”in a heavily populated civilian location inside Israel during a national holiday”, as the Jewish state observes Hannukah.
The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack as counter-productive, with chief spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeina urging factions not to give ”any pretext to continue the escalations against the Palestinians”.
The bombing came as Israeli artillery batteries and warplanes continued to bombard northern Gaza after a deadline expired for Palestinians to evacuate a new security zone which is intended to stop rocket attacks.
Israel’s unilateral decision to impose a ”no-go zone” in the far north of the territory comes as part of a concerted drive to thwart repeated militant rocket attacks launched from northern Gaza into southern Israel.
The confines of the security zone mainly incorporate an uninhabited area where three Jewish settlements stood, before Israel withdrew all soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip in September after a 38-year occupation.
Palestinian medical sources said a 14-year-old boy was wounded in the shelling when he was hit by shrapnel in the chest and neck. Dozens of women and children were also treated for trauma.
Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the new security measures would significantly reduce the number of rocket attacks on Israel.
”I believe that these means will significantly reduce the shelling. There is nothing that can totally prevent it, unless those who fire decide to stop firing,” he told army radio.
Chief of staff General Dan Halutz said that the country had to protect its citizens against rocket attacks as best as it could but ruled out the possibility of sending ground troops back into Gaza.
”We must protect our citizens as best as possible… even if this protection cannot be absolutely foolproof.”
Residents living in Gaza City said that the sound of bombardment could be heard at one-hour intervals throughout the night.
Those living in Beit Hanun, close to the no-go zone, said a number of windows had been smashed by the impact of the shelling.
A Palestinian militant, aged 25, was also lightly wounded as he prepared to fire a rocket from the security zone, medical sources said.
An army spokesperson said that aircraft attacked six roads in the north of Gaza leading to sites from which rockets can be launched against Israel and that artillery batteries fired about 30 shells at the sector.
The Israeli military earlier airdropped leaflets over Gaza, written in Arabic with an accompanying map indicating the extent of the zone, warning Palestinians to keep out of the area.
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas said Israel had no right to reassert control over any part of the territory but has also condemned the rocket strikes, which his security forces have proved largely powerless to prevent. – AFP
