By Stan Goodenough
Oct 26, 2005
Five Jews were killed and up to 30 were wounded in an Arab-perpetrated bombing carried out at a busy open-air market in the Israeli town of Hadera Wednesday afternoon.
Four of the wounded were reportedly in a critical condition. An emergency worker told CNN the injuries from the attack included blast impact wounds, penetration by flying shrapnel, burns from the explosion itself, and post-traumatic stress.
The bomb caused ?massive? damage to stalls and vehicles in the area, according to reports.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) ? the group Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has left free to kill Israelis in flagrant violation of numerous commitments to prevent them from doing so ? took credit for targeting the civilian shoppers.
Speaking from the recently-abandoned Gaza Strip, the PIJ said the attack was in revenge for the IDF?s killing, Sunday, of PIJ leader Louie Sa?adi.
?It is a natural retaliation for the Israeli crimes committed against our people, namely the crime against Louie Sa'adi,? Islamic Jihad spokesman Khader Habib told the AP.
Military sources, however, were quick to point out that a bomb attack of this magnitude took longer than three days to plan, according to Ha?aretz.
The bomber is believed to have been a woman, according to Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra.
Sa?adi was behind two other ?suicide? attacks this year: One, in Netanya on July 12, saw five Israelis killed and 90 wounded. In the other, on February 26 in Tel Aviv, four Israelis were killed and 30 were wounded.
PA spokesman Sa?eb Erekat ?condemned? Wednesday?s attack. Earlier, however, Erekat had denounced Israel for taking out Sa?adi. The PIJ leader, he said, had been an ?innocent? man.