By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Sep 22, 2004
A Palestinian Arab woman belonging to Yasser Arafat’s Fatah organization blew herself up at a crowded bus stop in northern Jerusalem Wednesday afternoon, killing two Israelis and wounding 15 others.
Two of the victims were listed in serious to critical condition. Among the wounded was a nine-year-old boy.
A far higher death toll was averted when an alert Border Police officer spotted the killer and prevented her from boarding a passenger bus. The officer was killed in the blast.
The death toll rose to two shortly after a critically wounded victim arrived at a nearby hospital and succumbed to his injuries.
Al Aqsa Brigades, a “military” wing of Arafat’s ruling Fatah faction, immediately claimed credit for the attack, saying the bomber had come from the northern Samaria town of Jenin.
Palestinian Authority cabinet minister Saeb Erekat condemned the bombing, and, despite the PA’s long refusal to combat anti-Israel terrorism, claimed the “Palestinians” opposed all violence aimed at civilians.
[ Ed. Note – The Palestinian Authority regularly issues a blanket condemnation of all violence targeting civilians following terrorist attacks against Israeli. While such statements play to the sensitivities of Western audiences, the PA knows the Arabs view all Israelis – men, women and children – as non-civilian military targets. ]
In an statement indicative of the PA’s seriousness about putting an end to the Islamic terrorism emanating from its midst, “Palestinian” intelligence chief Musa Arafat told Reuters Wednesday that the PA knew who was behind the killing of three American embassy guards in the Gaza Strip nearly a year ago, but would do nothing about it.
Arafat, a close relative of the PLO chief, said Washington was perfectly aware of the fact that the PA could not move against the terror groups without risking looking like an ally or pawn of Israel.
The Americans were killed during the summer of 2003 when Hamas terrorists detonated a roadside bomb against a US diplomatic convoy in the Gaza Strip.
Washington has expressed increasing frustration with the PA over its failure to bring the killers to justice.