ARAB HATE AND TERRORISM CLAIMS MORE LIVES IN JERUSALEM


As Yasser Arafat speaks peace, his own Fatah organization
claims responsibility for killing innocent men, women and children Photo: AP

Jerusalem----March 21......A sickness borne of hatred and propaganda again manifested it's barbaric head with a bloody terrorist Arab suicide bombing this afternoon in Jerusalem. Three Israeli's were killed with over 60 people rushed to hospitals, many without limbs and most with broken nails and screws embedded in their bodies. The attack took place around 6 p.m. in a cold and rainy Jerusalem, with the deadly explosion sending pedestrians in the air and running for cover on King George Avenue.

Yasser Arafat, who is currently accused of war crimes in Brussels and alleged to have murdered American diplomats in 1973, stated that he would take action against those who committed the atrocity in Jerusalem today. The last action that Arafat made in connection to the suicide bomber responsible for today's attack was having him released from prison in Ramallah. Arafat's Fatah's Aksa Martyrs Brigade has taken responsibility for massacre in Jerusalem today.

Israelis canceled a security meeting with Palestinians shortly after the terror attack took place.


Photo: AP

One witness to the bombing, identified only as Israel, said the terrorist looked suspicious but he did not have sufficient time to take action. "I was very close to him," said Israel. "I saw him walking, looking here and there, and I saw he looked suspicious. I wanted to call someone, but I didn't have time. Then he blew up. I saw arms and legs flying all over the place."

There was extensive damage to stores and vehicles in the area. "I saw a huge bloom of white smoke rising over the rooftops of downtown Jerusalem," said David Harris, bureau chief of The Media Line News Agency, whose offices overlook the downtown area. "There was bedlam as police and haredi Jews ran towards the scene of the blast as all others fled in the opposite direction."


Photo: Reuters

Harris said shopkeepers quickly locked up their stores in the wake of the explosion.

The Martyrs Brigades said Mohammed Hashaieka, from the northern West Bank village of Taluza, near Nablus, perpetrated the bombing.

The terrorist was known to Israeli and Palestinian security services, Channel Two reported. The PA had recently arrested him and then asked Israeli permission to move him to a Ramallah jail. But instead of locking him up again, the PA let him go - and he went to downtown Jerusalem.

Earlier today, PA West Bank security chief Jibril Rajoub said the PA would never close down the various Palestinian forces nor arrest wanted terrorists.

The wounded were taken to Bikur Holim Hospital, Hadassah University Hospital-Ein Kerem, and Hadassah University Hospital-Mt. Scopus.

Emergency hotlines have been established for relatives and friends of those wounded in the attack:

Bikur Holim Hospital: 125-5123


Hadassah-University Hospital, Ein Kerem: 125-5122


Hadassah-University Hospital, Mt. Scopus: 125-5121.

Overseas callers must first dial 972 before the above number.

"Arafat is taking no action whatsoever, even the most minimal action," said Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "We must act," Israeli Interior Minister Eli Ishai said Thursday. "We are in a war, and the Americans must understand that."

The State Department announced that it had begun steps earlier this week to declare the Al Aqsa Brigades — the Fatah-linked militia that claimed responsibility for the attack — a foreign terrorist organization. The move would authorize freezing any bank accounts in the United States and denying visas to its members. US Secretary of State Colin Powell late this evening spoke with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to express his regret over the murderous terrorist attacks in recent days. The Prime Minister updated the Secretary of State regarding the security consultations that were held late yesterday.

An Al Aqsa spokesman, who used a nom de guerre, Abu Mujahed, said the militia would not stop attacks until there is a truce agreement. The spokesman said Arafat has not given orders to stop attacks on Israelis.


Mindless violence, headless terrorist Photo: AP

Message from the Prime Minister's Office
Communicated by the Government Press Office

It is Arafat who is solely responsible for the continuation of murderous terrorist attacks. Arafat has done nothing up until now to advance the cease-fire and he is acting - whether covertly or through inability - to torpedo General (ret) Zinni's mission. Israel will be unable - for long - to persist in a unilateral effort to implement the Tenet document. This must be clear to all who expect a change of direction on the part of the Palestinian Authority, i.e. a halt to violence and terror.

The terrorist who committed today's suicide bombing in Jerusalem was a Palestinian policeman, Mohammed Mashud Mohammed Hashaikeh, born in 1981, from the Tluza village near Nablus.

Hashaikeh was arrested in mid-February by the Palestinian security services following information they received about his intention to carry out a suicide attack in Israel. In his interrogation, Hashaikeh admitted to planning to carry out a suicide attack at the mall in Raanana and that he was working under the direction of Tanzim and Islamic Jihad activists in northern Samaria.

Hashaikeh even turned over the explosive belt he was going to use to carry out the attack. From the interrogation it emerged that Hashaikeh was also involved in the attempted car bomb attack near Mei Ami on February 8.

Several days after his arrest, the Palestinian Authority asked Israel to allow the transfer of Hashaikeh to jail in Ramallah. The reason for the request -- like similar requests made recently by the Palestinian Authority of Israel -- was that the Authority could keep Hashaikeh under "quality" arrest in Ramallah (namely, in a proper jail from which escape would be more difficult). Israel acceded to the request and allowed Hashaikeh to be transferred to Ramallah.

From today's events it is evident that Hashaikeh was in fact released after being transferred to Ramallah.

These events underscore not only the growing involvement of the Palestinian Authority security apparatuses in terror, but the refusal of the PA to arrest terrorists in an effective way for a period of time, even when the PA knows for certain that these individuals intend to carry out mass terror attacks.