By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Aug 28, 2005
A ?Palestinian? homicide bomber blew himself up near the central bus station in the southern Israeli city of Beersheva Sunday morning, wounding at least 48 people.
An alert bus driver reportedly prevented the Arab from boarding his crowded vehicle after his suspicions were aroused by the large backpack and plastic bag the man was carrying.
The driver told reporters the would-be killer had asked if the bus was traveling to Beersheva's Soroka Hospital, which the ?Palestinians? have tried to blow up before.
After blocking the bomber, he called out to two nearby security guards, who chased the terrorist.
Both were critically wounded when the Arab detonated his charge in a last-ditch effort to take Jewish life. Most other victims were listed in light condition.
Police credited the bus driver and the security guards for preventing a far greater tragedy.
It was the first ?suicide? bomb attack against Israelis since a July 12 attack on a Netanya shopping mall that killed five.
Following that, the Palestinian Arabs instituted a lull in their terror campaign to ensure that Israel would complete the forced removal of Jewish civilians from Gaza and northern Samaria.
Today?s attack took place less than one week after those expulsions were carried out.
Just hours before the bombing, PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas had told Ha'aretz the one-sided ceasefire he brokered with ?Palestinian? terror groups was still in place and would continue indefinitely.
Earlier, US President George W. Bush insisted that the Palestinian Authority reciprocate Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria by finally honoring its peace commitment to curb anti-Jewish terror.
?The Palestinians must show the world that they will fight terrorism and govern in a peaceful way,? Bush said during his weekly radio address. ?We demand an end to terrorism and violence in every form because we know that progress depends on ending terror.?
Notwithstanding his statement, Bush did not go so far as to specifically call on Abbas to dismantle the Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees and other groups.
Hasan Abdel Rahman, the top ?Palestinian? official in Washington, reportedly urged the Bush Administration to give the PA more time and ?allow President Abbas to achieve that objective on his own terms.?
In the meantime, attacks such as Sunday's continue to take the lives of Jews and maim innocent men, women and children.