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Israel set to end restraint after bomber kills 17

"I saw parts of a brain, things I have never seen before. It was terrible."

Dudi Nachum, survivor of the bombing

Israel called off its self-declared "policy of restraint" yesterday, just hours after a suicide bomber killed 17 young Israelis and wounded 90 outside a Tel Aviv disco in the bloodiest terror attack in five years.

All but one of those killed and many of the wounded were recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

The Israeli cabinet said after a seven-hour emergency session -- an extremely rare occurrence on the Jewish Sabbath -- that it held Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat directly responsible for Friday night's blast and other recent attacks.

Arafat has formed a "coalition of terrorism" in the areas under his control, the cabinet said in the harshest condemnation of the Palestinian leader in eight months of fighting.

In the West Bank town of Ramallah, Arafat said he was ready to work for an "immediate and unconditional cease-fire," but did not say what steps he was prepared to take.

Israeli cabinet ministers dismissed the offer, saying they would not take it seriously unless Arafat arrested Islamic militants and reined in his security forces.

The Israeli cabinet said in a statement it would take all actions necessary to protect Israeli citizens, but did not elaborate.

Asked about the truce, Transport Minister Ephraim Sneh said that "there is no cease-fire because we are under attack."

Other cabinet ministers said Israel did not plan to target Arafat directly or recapture areas under Palestinian control.

In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority ordered its employees to leave their offices, fearing Israeli air strikes. In the past, Israel shelled Palestinian security installations, but not civilian offices.

In the town of Nablus, where an Israeli air raid last month killed 11 policement, residents were urged to stay indoors.

Israel sealed off Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank, barring residents from entering and leaving. In Gaza, Palestinian fishermen were ordered to return to shore, as Israeli patrol boats enforced a sea blockade. Israel also closed crossings from the Palestinian areas to Egypt and Gaza.

Israeli tanks entered Palestinian-controlled territory in the northern Gaza Strip, a first since Sharon had announced 11 days ago that he would unilaterally observe a truce.

The explosion, heard for kilometers around the city, went off around 11pm Friday in front of the Pacha nightclub in a former aquarium building that faces a promenade lined with restaurants, bars, hotels and office towers.

"I was about to enter [the disco], suddenly I looked in the direction of the blast, I saw people thrown backward," said Dudi Nachum, 21. "I saw parts of a brain, things I have never seen before. It was terrible."

The explosive contained ball bearings, nails and screws that caused particularly severe injuries when they flew out in all directions.

Bodies covered by white and black tarps lay on the ground in front of the entrance to the club.

Hospital officials said 17 Israelis were killed. Of the wounded, 15 remained in critical or serious condition yesterday.

Since fighting erupted last September, 484 people have been killed on the Palestinian side -- including Friday's attacker -- and 104 on the Israeli side.

Yesterday morning, crowds of angry Israelis gathered outside the defense ministry in Tel Aviv, where the cabinet was meeting, and at the gates of a mosque across the street from the disco. Demonstrators chanted "Death to the Arabs" and demanded that Sharon order harsh retaliation.
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