Sharon points finger at world court after deadly bus bomb in Tel Aviv
Sun Jul 11, 2:27 PM ET Add Top Stories - AFP to My Yahoo!
TEL AVIV (AFP) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) pointed the finger at a world court ruling against his government's West Bank barrier after Palestinian militants carried out their first deadly attack inside Israel in months.
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A young woman soldier was killed and 20 people wounded when a bomb placed next to a bus stop in the commercial capital exploded at the start of the morning rush hour on the first day of the working week.
The victim was named as 19-year-old Sergeant Maayan Naim, from a southern suburb of Tel Aviv.
The city's police chief Yossi Setbon said that a device had been concealed in shrubbery.
"It was caused by a charge which had been placed close to a bus stop, in the middle of bushes," he told reporters at the scene of the explosion. "A bus and nearby buildings were damaged."
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a militant group linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites)'s Fatah (news - web sites) movement, swiftly claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to AFP.
An anonymous spokesman said it was carried out to avenge crimes committed by Israeli forces in the West Bank town of Nablus and in the Gaza Strip (news - web sites), where troops recently carried out deadly raids.
The attack came just two days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dealt a stunning blow to Israel by declaring its West Bank separation barrier illegal, and ruling that the parts built on Palestinian territory be torn down.
Sharon's government has argued that the recent fall in attacks by Palestinians in Israel is a direct result of the barrier, about a third of which has been built so far.
The last attack on Israeli soil came on March 14, when 10 Israelis as well as two suicide bombers were killed in the southern port of Ashdod.
Sharon made clear at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that his government would ignore the ruling, which he linked to Sunday's attack.
"The murderous act that was carried out this morning was the first to occur under the patronage of the world court's decision," Sharon said in his first public reaction to the advisory judgement.
"The ruling totally ignores the reason behind the construction of the security barrier which is Palestinian terrorism.
"It is not without reason that the Palestinians are fighting against construction of the fence. They are well aware that completion of the fence will make it very difficult for them to continue with their acts of murder."
After ministerial consultations later in the day, Sharon ordered that construction of the 700-kilometre (430-mile) barrier should continue.
"Prime Minister Sharon directed that construction of the separation fence continue in accordance with the guidelines determined in the high court of justices' decision on June 30 and that the struggle against the opinion of the ICJ be continued by all diplomatic and legal means," his office said.
Judges at Israel's highest court ruled late last month that part of the barrier -- a montage of electric fencing, barbed wire and concrete wall -- should be rerouted north of Jerusalem because it infringed the rights of some 35,000 Palestinian inhabitants.
The Palestinians meanwhile decided to hold off pushing for a UN resolution against the barrier until after November's US presidential elections, as Israel looked to Washington to veto any draft resolution at the Security Council.
"We decided that it was not wise now to go to the Security Council because we don't want to incite the Americans, especially during the election campaign and it's better to wait until after the elections," one minister said after a meeting chaired by Arafat.
Agriculture minister Ibrahim Abu Annaja said a legal committee would be formed to discuss the Palestinians' next move.
"There is no rush to go to the Security Council, because we don't need to encourage and invite vetoes against the ruling," he said.
Sharon's chief spokesman said that the government was confident that the United States would use its veto if the Security Council was asked to consider a resolution to enforce the court's verdict.
"I think we have assurances from the United States that it will exercise its veto power if this one-sided resolution reaches the Security Council," Ranaan Gissin told AFP.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) urged Israel to heed the court's ruling.
"Whilst we all accept the government of Israel has a responsibility -- and indeed the duty -- to protect its citizens, any action it takes has to be in conformity with international law and has to respect the interest of the Palestinians," he told reporters in Bangkok.
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