Jihad group claim Israel café attack
A suicide bomber blew himself up on the patio of a restaurant near the Israeli coastal town of Haifa today, wounding up to 20 people.
The bombing followed a Palestinian suicide attack last Thursday at a Jerusalem pizzeria that killed 15 and wounded about 100.
In that incident, the assailant went inside and his bomb sprayed shrapnel and nails throughout the densely packed restaurant.
Today's bomber set off his explosives on the patio, shredding an awning, overturning tables and chairs at the Wall Street Cafe.
The force of the blast was less powerful than if it had taken place inside, and almost all the injuries were light, police and rescue workers said in Kiryat Motzkin, a suburb north of Haifa, about 50 miles north of Tel Aviv.
A spokesman for Islamic Jihad, the radical group that has carried out numerous previous bombing, claimed responsibility in Beirut, Lebanon.
As with previous bomb attacks, Israeli officials said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat bore ultimate responsibility for his refusal to arrest Palestinian militants groups such as Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
"Arafat believes he can continue to support this wave of terrorism against Israeli civilians without any international pressure or condemnation," said Dore Gold, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"Israel cannot tolerate this trail of terror."
Sharon's government responded to Thursday's attack by taking over Palestinian political offices and security buildings in and around disputed east Jerusalem.
