From Reuters:
Over
3050 people were wounded [with three confirmed dead] in an explosion at a club in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Friday, media and emergency services said.The blast was likely caused by Palestinian militants, Israeli media reported.
It was the first such explosion since Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared a cease-fire aimed at ending more than four years of violence at a summit on Feb. 8.
Abbas has called an emergency meeting of Palestinian leaders; and Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin is reporting that spokesmen from the various major Palestinian militant organizations are disclaiming any involvement in the attack.
****
update: I take it Laurence doesn’t believe the denials (h/t SondraK)
Grrrrrrrrrrr…
One step forward…
(spamword:ever…end?)
nasty little fuckers aren’t they?
jpost
fuckfuckfuckfuck…fucking Islamofucks….eat shit and die, motherfuckers……kill ‘em all, and let “Allah” sort ‘em out.
Hmm. Must have been ETA, then, if the Palis say none of them did it. I guess Basque separatists don’t have as good a sense of direction as one might think. Stupid Basques!
Naw, couldn’t have been those Palis, those Religion of Pieces, er Peace, Islamists
I bet those it was Berzerker Baptists, or Maurading Mormons. Charlie Rangel himself said there was no such thing as Islamists terrorism.
Or maybe it’s Jeff Gannon’s fault. You know, to deflect from THE HYPOCRISY.
That’s the ticket.
This really, really sucks, but I would be hesitant to cast blame here. Both Islamic Jihad and Al-Asqa have a vested interest in seeing the new Abu Masen government gain credibility, negotiating power, and global (read: US) status. They can only do this by NOT ruining this cease-fire. Note that in the Jerusalem Post article, both AA and IJ denied involvement (after somebody called in claiming responsibility in their name).
I would not be a bit surprised if al-Quaeda or some Ba’athist element was behind this and tried to make it look like cookie cutter Palestinian terrorism. Just look at the recent news coming out of that region. Lebanese are taking the unprecedented step of engaging in Ukraine-style sit-ins and demanding Syrian (Ba’athist) withdrawal. Al-Quaeda is watching as more and more of the Middle East looks at Iraqis voting and writing a constitution and says “why not us”. And, most importantly, any sort of real progress in the Israeli/Palestinian situation removes a MAJOR recruiting and fundraising tool for Al-Quaeda.
Clearly, this is the work of Islamic terrorists, and they are scum. But (and I may be wrong) I would be surprised if they are Palestinian terrorists – just as most of the Iraqi “insurgents” are not Iraqis.
Darcy, there are a lot of Palestinians who don’t believe in any compromise with Israel.
Robin,
I understand that there are Palestinians whose stated goal is to drive the infidels into the ocean. And this may well have been the work of IJ or AAMB – or other Palestinian terrorists. The most likely culprit at the moment is looking perhaps like Hezbollah though, meaning this was probably planned and financed in Syria or Iran.
If it was homegrown, then the Palestinians are even dumber than I thought they were.
I tend to agree with Darcyman on this. Hizbollah seems like a reasonable bet. Also, I wouldn’t worry too much about what Palestinians “believe” or don’t “believe” in evaluating peace prospects there. Ordinary Palestinians have been brainwashed from birth by their leaders,who control the flow of information. Once the leaders decide to redirect their propaganda efforts, I think the “beliefs” of the Palestinians will be pretty malleable. I’m cautiosly optimistic.
make that cautiously
Maybe the Palestinian Authority would like to help us and Israel take on Syria, to help get their reputation back…?
Hezbollah is being blamed but it isn’t convincing. This is just the same old stuff, Abbas doesn’t have control of Al Aqsa. The Israelis may give him a freebie on this one, but he’s going to have to start delivering.
Wow!
Diana —
Look one post above.
BAM!
Looks like Darcyman and I were wrong: “the Palestinians are even dumber than [we] thought they were.” See Captain’s Quarters for details.
Oh, crap. I HATE being wrong.
Though no one ever got poor betting on the stupditity of the Palestinians.