Sharon vows offensive after bombing
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-27 22:11

MARKET BOMBER

The suicide bomber blew himself up in front of a sandwich stand in the main outdoor market in Hadera, a frequent target of attacks in a 5-year-old Palestinian uprising. Five people were killed and more than 30 wounded.

The attack was the first bombing in the Jewish state since August 28, when a suicide bomber wounded 20 people in Beersheba.

Abbas denounced the bombing and pledged to try to salvage the truce he agreed to earlier this year.

"We strongly condemn the Israeli aggressions against our people in the West Bank and Gaza just as we condemn the incident in Hadera," Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie said. "What happened (on Wednesday) ... is like spilling oil on a fire."

Israeli officials noted the attack followed remarks in Tehran by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Israel should be "wiped off the map."

The army imposed a closure on the West Bank and shut Gaza Strip crossings, restricting even the small number of Palestinians who occasionally get permits to enter Israel.

Islamic Jihad, sworn to Israel's destruction, had vowed revenge after Israeli troops shot dead West Bank commander Loai Assadi, the most senior militant killed since the truce began.

Israel and Washington said the Palestinian Authority needed to act against militants to push forward stalled peace talks. Abbas has so far preferred to negotiate with armed groups.

Leaders from Islamic Jihad and several other militant groups in Gaza rejoiced at the bombing and vowed to continue responding to Israeli attacks on Palestinians.

Asked about Abbas's condemnation of the bombing, an Islamic Jihad spokesman said: "Anyone who criticizes the resistance is a violator of the national consensus and stands beside the enemy."