An explosion tore through the open-air market in the coastal city of Hadera on in northern Israel, Wednesday afternoon, killing at least five and wounding some 30 others, Israeli sources reported.
Palestinian sources reported that the bomber is a Palestinian youth identifed as Hassan Abu Zeid, 20, from the town of Qabatya in the northern West Bank.
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Palestine News Network quoted an Islamic Jihad official stating that Abu Zeid left his house early Wednesday morning without any body noticing him and blew himself up in the evening.
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The explosion occurred in front of a Falafel stand in downtown Hadera. It is not clear yet whether the attack is caused by a suicide bomber or an explosive device left at the market.
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Dozens of ambulances rushed to the scene of the blast to evacuate the wounded.
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Wednesday’s bombing is the first since August 28, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to Be’er Sheva’s central bus station, wounding 20 people.
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According to a report by Israeli Channel 10 TV, Israeli army believes the Islamic Jihad movement was responsible for this attack.
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The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack saying it is in retaliation to the assasination of one of its leaders in Tulkarem few days ago, and others who were killed by the Israeli army.
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Khader Habib of the Islamic Jihad told Al-Jazeera TV that ‘the movement and other Palestinian factions will respond to all the israeli crimes against our people.’
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Habib said we committed to the calm, but Israel did not they continued to assassinate and arrest the resistance fighters, and said that the resistance factions will not stay silent about it.
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Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, secretary of the Palestinian Democratic Initiative, said all Palestinian factions gave a chance for the calm, but Israel did not give it a chance and kept provoking the Palestinians. Israeli army killed 120 and arrested 2500 Palestinians since the Palestinians declared calm, 13 of them since the beginning of October, said Barghouthi.
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‘Israel has closed all the west Bank cities during the Jewish holidays of Soukot, turning daily life of Palestinians a daily hardship,’ Barghouthi said, adding that ‘the wall which has been built since 2 years, did not stop attacks in Israel which proves that this wall is not a security measure, but a way to separate the West Bank into pieces and grabbing more land from the Palestinians.’
