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Last update - 00:21 31/03/2006
Three Israelis killed in West Bank suicide bombing attack
By Amos Harel and Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Service
Three Israelis were killed when a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated explosives in a car after nightfall Thursday at the entrance to the West Bank settlement of Kedumim, located west of Nablus.
The vehicle blew up around 9:45 P.M. next to the Kedumim gas station. Security forces sealed roads in the area immediately in the wake of the attack.
A new offshoot of the Fatah from the Balata refugee camp in nearby Nablus
claimed responsibility. The group called itself Kateb al-Shahid Chamuda and identified the bomber as Mahmoud Masharka, 24, from the West Bank city of Hebron.
Al-Manar TV in Lebanon broadcast a claim of responsibility from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent offshoot of Fatah, which is headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
The three Israeli casualties had apparently picked up the suicide bomber, who was likely dressed as an observant Jew, as he was hitchhiking on the road. He then exploded in their car.
It is not clear if the terrorist got in the car at the entrance to Kedumim or rode with the Israeli victims to Kedumim from another location.
A rescue service official said medics could not approach the car, because it was still on fire nearly an hour after the blast. The blast scattered pieces of the car across a wide area.
Rafaela Segal, who lives in Kedumim, said she heard the blast from her
house, from where she can see the gas station. "I saw thick smoke rising from the gas station and at first I thought the gas station was on fire," she said.
"Now all the roads are closed except for the emergency vehicles. The smoke has reached my windows," she told Israel Radio more than an hour after the blast. "Security forces are searching the area."
The Prime Ministers' Office blamed the Palestinian Authority for the attack.
"The Palestinian Authority continues to do nothing to prevent terror against Israelis. There are currently scores of terrorist alerts concerning attacks against Israelis in the works," said David Baker, an official in the PMO.
"The Palestinian Authority continues to be fertile ground for terrorist attacks, most notably because of the PA's aversion to taking any necessary steps to prevent terror," he added.
The last suicide bombing in the West Bank was December 29, 2005, at an Israel Defense Forces checkpoint. An IDF soldier and two Palestinians were killed in addition to the bomber.
This was the first suicide bombing claimed by a group other than Islamic Jihad since a cease-fire was declared in February 2005.
Arab Bomber Dressed as Jewish Hitchhiker Murders Three
23:37 Mar 30, '06 / 1 Nisan 5766
By Ezra HaLevi
An Arab terrorist from Fatah's Al-Aksa Brigade dressed as a Jewish hitchhiker and blew himself up inside the car of those who picked him up near Kedumim, in Samaria - murdering three Jews.
The attack took place at 10 PM near the gas station and hitchhiking station adjacent to the town of Kedumim.
The terror group released a statement saying the bomber was a 24-year-old from Hevron.
Shortly following the explosion, police believed the blast was a terrorist bomb that detonated prematurely, killing the bomber inside. The vehicle was engulfed in flames so preliminary reports took over an hour to begin to reflect the reality.
It now appears that the bomber dressed as a Jew, wearing a kippa (yarmulke) and hassidic garb and was given a ride by the unsuspecting occupants of the Israeli vehicle. He then blew himself up inside, killing three passengers. The number of dead remains unclear but it appears to be two at this time.
Security authorities are still emphasizing that details of the attack are not yet clear.
