א באמבע אין באר שבע היינט

Shin Bet holding man Jihad says was suicide bomber
By Amos Harel and Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies

An unidentified suicide bomber rocked the center of the Negev capital of Be'er Sheva early Sunday, critically wounding a security guard and seriously injuring another, in the first such terror attack since Israel began its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip earlier this month.

The man who carried out the Be'er Sheva suicide bombing was initially identified by Islamic Jihad as Ayman Za'aqiq, 25, of the village of Beit Umar, located between the West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Hebron. A statement by the group statement said he was an Islamic Jihad member.

But Za'aqiq's family said later Sunday evening that he is being held in Israeli detention and therefore could not have carried out the suicide attack in Be'er Sheva. Military sources subsequently confirmed Za'aqiq had been arrested several days ago and is currently held by the Shin Bet security service.

Islamic Jihad also claimed the Sunday morning attack was carried out in cooperation with Fatah, but this report was not immediately confirmed by additional sources.

In addition to the two security guards, 46 other people were wounded in the attack. The guards' quick action in pursuing the bomber saved dozens of lives, witnesses said. The target of the attack, mounted during the morning rush hour at the start of the Israeli work week, may have been Soroka hospital, also the intended target of a foiled suicide bombing earlier this year.

The bomber had aroused the suspicions of the driver of a crowded Number 9 bus. Asked by the bomber if his bus went to Soroka, the driver directed him to another area, then alerted security guards, who pursued the attacker until he set off the bomb. The explosion critically injured one of the guards. The other was listed in serious but stable condition.

The blast came three days after the Islamic Jihad had sworn "painful" revenge for a raid in which IDF troops killed five Palestinians in their hideout in the West Bank city of Tul Karm.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, citing the IDF raid as a provocation, condemned the Be'er Sheva bombing as a "terrorist attack."

Israel said soon after the bombing that unless the Palestinian Authority took steps to curb terrorism, there would be no progress on the diplomatic front.

"The driver signalled two security guards to go to him," Uri Bar-Lev, the police chief for southern Israel, told Army Radio. "These two security guards ultimately prevented an attack that could have been a lot worse."

Khaled al-Batch, an Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza, said the attack "came as a natural reaction to the occupation crimes ... It is our right to retaliate."

The Islamic Jihad was also responsible for the terror attacks on the Sharon Mall in Netanya on July 12, in which five were killed and some 90 wounded, and the earlier bombing of the Stage nightclub in Tel Aviv.

The bus driver told Israel Radio the suicide bomber was carrying a heavy bag and drew his suspicion.

"I was suspicious of him, he had a large backpack and a plastic bag in his hand," a witness who identified himself as a bus driver named Rami told Israel Radio. "I pointed him out to the guard. He was about 20 meters from the bus when he blew up. It was a huge explosion, very big," he said.

Taxi driver Itzik Ohana said he was waiting for customers in the lot when he saw the bomber, a man about 20, who had short hair and was dragging a heavy bag and sweating. The man frequently stopped to put the bag down and rest.

Ohana said he told a security guard about the suspicious-looking man and called the police. "While I was talking to the police there was an explosion," he said.

Yehuda Shoshan, a paramedic, said the two security guards were "suffering from shrapnel wounds and burns all over their bodies."

The wounded were all taken to Soroka Medical Center in the city.

A suicide bomber last struck in Israel on July 12, killing five people outside a shopping mall in the coastal city of Netanya.

Earlier this year, a Palestinian Gaza resident was caught on her way to carry out a suicide bombing at Soroka. She tried to take advantage of an entry permit into Israel she had obtained in order to receive medical treatment there.

EMERGENCY HOTLINE, SOROKA HOSPITAL 12-55-177

BE'ER SHEVA MUNICIPALITY HOTLINE 08-646-3737