A suicide bomber blew himself up outside the central bus station in this southern Israeli city yesterday, critically wounding two security guards, officials said. It was the first attack since Israel began its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this month.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, which drew immediate Israeli and Palestinian condemnations. Various Palestinian militant groups had threatened to avenge an Israeli raid in the West Bank last week that killed five Palestinians.
The attack occurred in a dirt parking lot about 100m from the station, which was crowded with morning rush-hour travelers. Witnesses said two security guards halted the bomber, preventing a much larger attack.
"I was suspicious of him, he had a large backpack and a plastic bag in his hand," a bus driver who identified himself as Rami told Israel Radio. "I pointed him out to the guard. He was about 20m from the bus when he blew up. It was a huge explosion, very big," he said.
Yehuda Shoshan, a paramedic, said the two security guards were critically wounded. "They were suffering from shrapnel wounds and burns all over their bodies," he told Channel 10 TV.
Police spokesman Avi Zelba said there were no other known injuries, though 48 people were treated for shock.
At the scene of the attack, the body of the bomber, ripped to pieces by the explosion, lay in the dirt covered by strips of plastic. Nearby, a gray car was splattered with blood, and windows were blown out of several vehicles by the force of the blast. A bus also had its windows shattered, the side of the bus pockmarked with shrapnel.
The scene was quickly cleared, leaving a scorched section of earth and blood stains on the ground behind.
The bombing was the third since Israel and the Palestinians declared a ceasefire in February, and rattled efforts to use the Gaza withdrawal as a springboard to resuming peace talks. Israel removed the last of its 8,500 Jewish settlers in Gaza last week, and is expected to complete the pullout by early October.
"Israel has taken the necessary steps to further the prospects of peace with the Palestinians," said David Baker, an official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office. "This bombing ... is another indication that the Palestinian Authority must take proper steps against terror, and without these steps, there will be no progress between both sides."
Israeli authorities suspected the attacker came from the Hebron area in the southern West Bank.
Construction of Israel's massive West Bank separation barrier hasn't been completed in that area, allowing militants to infiltrate southern Israel relatively easily. Two suicide bombers from Hebron struck Beersheba in August 2004, killing 16 people, prompting Israel to speed up construction in the area.
There has been a lull in violence since the cease-fire declaration last February, but sporadic fighting has persisted. Israel has accused the Palestinians of failing to take tough enough action against militants during the quiet, while Palestinian militants accuse Israel of violating the truce through continued arrest raids.
Tensions have been rising in recent days. Israel said last week it has issued orders to confiscate land around its largest settlement, Maaleh Adumim, for construction of the separation barrier.
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