Second bomb brings fear of new attacks
A Palestinian bomber blew himself up at a busy crossroads today in northern Israel, killing only himself.
Although no one else was hurt, the second suicide attack in as many days proved that attackers still have the means to strike inside Israel.
Also, Israeli officials gave details of a Palestinian plan to detonate a one-ton bomb in a car park under twin 50-floor towers in Tel Aviv.
The officials said that attack was thwarted three weeks ago when troops raided a West Bank town, preventing the bombing before it could be launched.
An Israeli military officer, who appeared before parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, said Palestinian militants were attempting to rebuild their capacity to carry out bombing attacks.
The military sweep in the West Bank, launched on March 29 amid the deadliest wave of suicide bombings ever faced by Israel, resulted in the death or capture of hundreds of suspected militants - and a sharp drop in the number of attacks.
The relative calm inside Israel in recent weeks suggested the Israeli raids had seriously disrupted the network of attackers, who come from several different Palestinian groups, or that the militants had scaled back their bombings, at least temporarily.
But yesterday, a bomber disguised in a soldier’s uniform entered a fruit and vegetable market and set off his explosives, killing three Israelis.
Dozens of others were wounded in the attack in Netanya, a coastal city that has been hit repeatedly by militants.
That was followed by a bombing today at Taanakhim Junction, a few miles inside Israel, near the northern West Bank.
An Israeli driver notified authorities when a man waiting at the junction’s bus stop aroused his suspicion.
When the patrol asked the Palestinian man for identification, he blew himself up, police said. No one else was hurt.
No group claimed responsibility for today’s blast, while the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or PFLP, a radical PLO faction, said it carried out yesterday’s attack.
The PFLP is headed by Ahmed Saadat, who is detained in a Palestinian jail in the West Bank town of Jericho under British and US supervision.
Israel demanded the detention of Saadat, whose group carried out the killing of Israel’s hard-line tourism minister last October.
An Israeli government spokesman, Danny Shek, said Saadat ‘‘might have been instrumental in commanding and masterminding the bombing.’’
However, Deputy Defence Minister Dalia Rabin Pelossof said there was no conclusive proof that Saadat ordered the attack.
Saadat has given a phone interview from detention, and Israeli media reports said he has received visits from PFLP activists.
Among those killed yesterday was Arkady Wieselman, 39, a hotel chef who had narrowly escaped the March 27 bombing at the Park Hotel in Netanya. He was in the walk-in freezer when that blast went off in the dining hall.
Some Israeli commentators warned today that violence was again likely to escalate without signs of progress towards a ceasefire or peace talks.
‘‘The diplomatic vacuum is fertile ground for the terror infrastructure, which is rebuilding itself despite the pressure of the Shin Bet security service and the Israeli military,’’ wrote military commentator Alex Fishman in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper.
The prospect for talks remains dim. Peace talks broke down more than a year ago, and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says the violence must stop before they can be restarted.
Sharon also says that he does not view Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as a partner for peace negotiations.
In another development, Palestinians said they are now required to obtain Israeli permits to travel from one Palestinian city to another, formalising tough travel restrictions that have been in place throughout the 20 months of Mideast fighting.
In a meeting with foreign diplomats today, Arafat said the Israelis had effectively divided the West Bank into eight separate cantons.
‘‘President Arafat considers this a dangerous measure by the Israelis,’’ said Palestinian Cabinet Secretary Ahmed Abdel Rahman.
Also, Israel’s Housing Ministry is asking for bids to build almost 1,000 apartments in the West Bank at existing Jewish settlements.
The US and European countries have sharply criticised Israel’s settlement policy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Palestinians say the settlements are on Arab land and are designed to make the creation of a Palestinian state impossible.
More than 200,000 settlers live in about 150 settlements scattered across the West Bank and Gaza, and Israel has said it needs to build in the settlements to account for ‘‘natural growth’’ of the population.
