Suicide Bomber Kills 5 at Market in Northern Israel

A Palestinian suicide bomber slipped into a crowd lining up for sandwiches in northern Israel on Wednesday, setting off a thunderous blast that killed five people, wounded more than 20 and dimmed hopes for diplomatic progress in the wake of Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

The explosion, at a popular falafel stand at the entrance to an open-air market in this coastal town, left pools of blood and scraps of flesh amid a scattering of melons, onions and apples from nearby produce stalls. A carpet of glass shards covered the ground.

The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the late afternoon bombing, saying it was carried out in revenge for the slaying of one of its senior commanders by Israeli undercover troops two days earlier in the West Bank town of Tulkarm.

Israeli experts and officials, however, expressed doubt that such a retaliatory attack could have been mounted so quickly. Suicide bombings typically involve a complex interplay of explosives procurers, recruiters, handlers and guides that requires weeks of planning.

“This attack was already ‘in the barrel,’ ” said Israel Radio correspondent Shmuel Tal, using a Hebrew expression that refers to a bullet having been chambered for firing.

Palestinian officials swiftly condemned the bombing. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement that it “could widen the cycle of violence, chaos, extremism and bloodshed.”

Before dawn today, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at four sites in the Gaza Strip: two open fields used in the past by Palestinian militants to launch rockets toward Israel, and two access roads. No casualties were reported on the ground.

Israel said the suicide bombing, the first inside Israel in two months, illustrated the dangers that would be faced by its citizens if restrictions on Palestinians’ movements were eased. The government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon also renewed demands that Abbas act decisively against militant groups.

“This murderous attack is urgent proof that the Palestinian Authority must once and for all dismantle and disarm the terrorist infrastructure,” said David Baker, an official in the prime minister’s office.

The attack, six weeks after Sharon’s government completed its withdrawal of Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers from Gaza, was the latest blow to hopes that the pullout would be a precursor to a return to the negotiating table by the two sides.

The weeks since Israel ended its 38-year occupation of the narrow coastal strip have been characterized by slowly escalating violence, coupled with rancorous disputes over the control of Gaza’s borders.

The Hadera attack also provides fresh ammunition for Sharon’s political foes, who characterized the withdrawal as a capitulation to Palestinian militants who fought for years to drive Israel out of the territory. The anti-pullout camp predicted that handing over Gaza would only embolden groups such as Hamas, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and Islamic Jihad.

Of the main militant groups, Islamic Jihad is the smallest and weakest, but in recent months it has been particularly active in attacks on Israelis. The Hadera attack was the fourth suicide bombing in Israel this year -- and the fourth for which Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.

The group has said it still considers itself party to an informal “calm” declared seven months ago by the main militant factions, but Israel considers Islamic Jihad fighters fair game, particularly if it believes they are actively planning attacks.

Israel said that description fit Luai Saadi, a 26-year-old Islamic Jihad commander who was slain with a top lieutenant in an Israeli raid on the Tulkarm refugee camp before dawn Monday. Israel said that Saadi headed a cell responsible for bombings this year at a Tel Aviv nightclub and a shopping mall in the northern Israeli city of Netanya that killed 10 people, and that he had been helping plan another attack.

Israeli commentators predicted the confrontation with Islamic Jihad would escalate. “As far as Israel is concerned, it is declaring war on this rather small organization,” said Yinon Magal, the military affairs correspondent for Israel’s Channel 10.

Israel’s defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, met with top security officials Wednesday night to discuss Israel’s response. After the killing of Saadi and Islamic Jihad’s resulting threats, Mofaz had warned of harsh reprisals if the group launched any attacks.

The Hadera strike came the day after Simchat Torah, the last in a string of Jewish religious holidays that make up the High Holy Days. Some Israelis began returning to work Wednesday, but school was out and many people had the day off.

Police said the bomber joined the line of people waiting to buy falafel, deep-fried balls of chickpeas that are tucked into pita bread -- a food equally popular with Israelis and Palestinians.

“When the crowd had gotten big enough for the bomber’s satanic logic, the bomb was activated,” said Dov Lutzky, police commander for the Galilee district.

Witnesses described a grimly familiar tableau.

“It was total chaos -- I saw bodies lying everywhere, body parts and blood spread out on the ground,” said Edward Khalukay, a 49-year-old Russian immigrant who runs a nearby money-changing stand.

Hadera, close to the boundary with the West Bank, was hit hard and often in the early days of the current Palestinian uprising, which began more than five years ago. But attacks in northern Israeli cities dropped off dramatically in the last two years, after Israel began erecting its controversial separation barrier in and around the West Bank.

Still, bombers get in, sometimes passing through checkpoints with false documents or with the help of people in Israel.

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Times staff writer King reported from Jerusalem and special correspondent Bekker from Hadera.