Israel said yesterday that it held the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority responsible for the deadliest suicide bombing in 20 months and debated whether to target it directly as an "enemy entity" -- even though the attack was carried out by a different militant group.
Monday's blast outside a packed Tel Aviv fast food restaurant killed nine civilians and wounded dozens during the Jewish Passover holiday, and troop reinforcements were deployed across Israel for fear of more attacks. The 21-year-old bomber, a West Bank university dropout, was sent by the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad group.
Israel's UN ambassador, Dan Gillerman, told the UN Security Council that the Hamas government's verbal support for the bombing, as well as recent statements by Iran and Syria, "are clear declarations of war, and I urge each and every one of you to listen carefully and take them at face value."
Gillerman said a new "axis of terror" -- Iran, Syria and the Hamas government -- was sowing the seeds of the first world war of the 21st century.
Israeli Prime Minister-designate Ehud Olmert convened key Cabinet ministers and security chiefs yesterday to discuss a response. One proposal was to hold the Hamas government directly responsible and declare it an "enemy entity," according to an Israeli official close to the consultations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the ministers had not yet made their decision.
Direct strikes
Such a declaration could pave the way for direct strikes against the Palestinian Authority and its officials. Until now, an economic and political boycott had been Israel's main tools against the Hamas government.
"Israel sees the Palestinian Authority as responsible for what happened yesterday," said Gideon Meir, a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official.
The meeting lasted two hours. Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra, speaking to Israel Radio, refused to outline what decisions were made, saying he did not want to tip off militant groups. Israel Radio said one of a list of measures was to crack down on Palestinian laborers sneaking into Israel without permits. Israel has been unable to keep out Palestinians in the past, despite security closures.
Israeli security chiefs had proposed tightening travel restrictions, including making it harder for Palestinians to move between different parts of the West Bank and extending a blanket closure of the West Bank and Gaza. The bomber came from the northern West Bank, and the military planned to step up raids in that area. The army also proposed intensifying targeted killings of Islamic Jihad activists.
Response
In an initial response, Israeli aircraft attacked an empty metal workshop in Gaza City early yesterday, causing no injuries. The army said the workshop was used by the Popular Resistance Committees militant group to manufacture homemade rockets to launch at Israel.
Monday's bombing was the first inside Israel since Hamas came to power at the end of last month. Islamic Jihad threatened more attacks, saying it had trained 70 more would-be suicide bombers -- both men and women -- who were prepared to carry out new bombings.
Hamas officials defended the blast as a justified response to Israeli military strikes against the Palestinians. Hamas, which has carried out scores of suicide bombings since the early 1990s, has largely observed a truce since last year, but refuses to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist. Hamas officials have said they would not try to stop or arrest members of other militant groups trying to carry out attacks.
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