Bus bombed in Haifa

[Guest wwF1587]

A suicide bomber blew himself up aboard a crowded bus in the northern city of Haifa on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens, officials said.

 

The blast ripped off the roof of the No. 37 bus, strewing wreckage and body parts across the street. Witnesses said the explosion occurred just after the bus stopped in the hilltop neighborhood Carmelia at about 2:17 p.m. Officials said because of the hour, the bus would have been packed with students from the nearby University of Haifa.

 

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which comes as Israel's new hardline government is pressing ahead with a two-week-old offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza, and as the Palestinian Authority is considering far-reaching reforms.

 

In the past Israel has reacted with tough military measures after such attacks and has blamed Yasser Arafat, saying the Palestinian Authority does nothing to prevent terrorism.

 

"Once again the bestial hand of Palestinian terrorism has struck at the heart of Israel," said Mark Sofer, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, adding that in the past two months Israeli forces had thwarted almost 100 attempted attacks.

 

Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat condemned "any attack that is targeting civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli. But he added: "We reject the Israel government finger-pointing that the Palestinian Authority is responsible."

 

Haifa police chief Yaacov Borovsky said the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber, and police sources said at least 15 people were killed.

 

Avi Zohar, a rescues services spokesman, said there were "dozens of casualties, among them at least two dozen seriously injured. Some of the wounded were being treated at the scene, and others were evacuated.

 

"I suddenly heard a huge explosion and all the lights in my beauty parlor broke," said beautician Ronen Levy. "I am still in shock."

 

Ovadia Saar, who was driving another bus just behind the one that was attacked, said he saw "the back of the bus fly into the air, and the windows blew out and a great cloud of dust covered the bus."

 

"I got out and ran toward the bus. It was a horrible sight. There were a few bodies in the street," he said. "Those we saw breathing we evacuated."

 

The blast toppled some palm trees and left the bus a skeleton of charred and twisted metal. Cars that were parked nearby were also damaged in the blast, and some passers-by were among the injured.

 

Israeli police went on alert throughout the country amid warnings that more attacks were planned, reports said.

 

The bombing was the second major terrorist attack in as many days, coming after Tuesday's bombing at an airport in the Philippines, which killed 21 and injured 117. There is no evidence the attacks are related.

 

It was the first terror attack in Israel since Jan. 5, when a pair of suicide bombers killed 23 people in Tel Aviv. In the past, such attacks have brought on tough Israeli military responses.

 

Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a spokesman for the Islamic militant Hamas group, praised the attack but did not claim responsibility. "We will not stop our resistance," he said. "We are not going to give up in the face of the daily killing" of Palestinians.

 

Wednesday's attack follows an Israeli crackdown in the occupied territories following the deaths of four Israeli soldiers in an attack on their tank on Feb. 15. Hamas claimed responsibility for that bombing.

 

Israel's new government, which was sworn in last week, has promised stepped up military strikes against suspected militants and their infrastructure. In two weeks of back-to-back raids in Gaza and the West Bank more than 50 Palestinians have been killed.

 

Hamas has been vowing revenge for those killings, reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger.

 

As part of that crackdown, Israeli soldiers on Wednesday demolished the home of a suspected suicide bomber in the West Bank and removed the remains of a neighborhood mosque on the Gaza-Egypt border.

 

The U.S. government has protested the intensifying Israeli operations, which have led to several civilian casualties.

 

"We have concerns about actions that go beyond and that bring harm to the innocent, including innocent Palestinians,'" White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said on Monday.

 

In a political development, Palestinians said Tuesday that Yasser Arafat is considering appointing billionaire businessman Monib al-Masri, 65, as prime minister, but officials from Arafat's Fatah movement insisted that the premier must come from Fatah, preferring Arafat's longtime deputy, Mahmoud Abbas.

 

Abbas, a moderate, is tipped as a possible successor to Arafat. He has called the violent 29-month Palestinian struggle a mistake.

[Guest hardyz1]

Well, by golly, they deserve it for occupying Palestinian towns!!!!!!!!!!11

 

</sarkazm d00d>

[Guest nikowwf]

This will get like 3 posts. No one cares. US IS BEING MEAN topics get posts...but the world doesnt seem to care about Israeli civilians getting blown up.

 

niko

[Guest Lord of The Curry]

In other news the sky is still blue and Benoit is still God.

 

Paltestine Violence = Nothing special anymore. Everybodys been desensitized.

[Guest wwF1587]

its still pretty sad still

[Guest Anglesault]

A suicide bomber

Homicide. Enough with this "suicide" bullshit.

[cawthon777 0]

Note to self ... cancel Spring Break plans in Haifa

[Guest Olympic Slam]

I don't know why Israel just doesn't snap and go on the offensive for good. The rest of the world may condemn them for it but Israel has the most important ally in the world in their corner.

[Guest DrTom]

I don't know why Israel just doesn't snap and go on the offensive for good.

Because I imagine their perspective on genocide is a unique one. Even considering that, though, they've shown remarkable patience during this very long ordeal. I think I would have ordered a massive annihilation campaign a while ago.

[Guest EricMM]

I understand what their views on genocide must be, but at this point, what else can they do? Those crazy palastinians are just too stupid to stop. If they stopped they'd get their country. But no. They want to conquer Israel with Suicide Bombers. They're completely mental.

[Guest Olympic Slam]

While I maintain that 9/11 is the unofficial start of WWIII, if Israel finally does say "enough is enough," then I do believe the next world war will begin.

[Guest Tim]

Why do they piss around? Lets get WW3 over and done with.

[Guest Anorak]

Talk about a vicious cycle...

 

The reporting of the conflict hasn't got any less problematic over the years either.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

A suicide bomber

Homicide. Enough with this "suicide" bullshit.

Yes. The terrorist are attempting to kill people. If it was only a suicide bomber, they wouldn't target other people.

[Guest DrTom]

Those crazy palastinians are just too stupid to stop. If they stopped they'd get their country. But no.

Indeed. They've been offered land-for-peace deals, but Arafat makes a habit of walking out of the negotiations when things like that come up. He's not interested in peace; he's just a puppet of the nearby extremist regimes and wants to kill as many Israelis as possible. Fuck him, and fuck his "people." I've been in favor of Israel just wiping them out for some time now.

[Guest Anorak]

Yeah, wipe them all out!!!!!!!

[Guest Anglesault]

Even considering that, though, they've shown remarkable patience during this very long ordeal. I think I would have ordered a massive annihilation campaign a while ago.

Hell, I think anyone would. There is only so much you can take. Yet Isreal remains patient. Kudos to them.

[Guest Anorak]

'Patience??

 

Israel will respond in kind on a greater scale in no time at all in a 'revenge' offensive and kill three times as many palestinians. Yet another 'suicide' bomber will then blow up more Israeli's in 'revenge' for that. Repeat +1000000 times.

[Guest The Hamburglar]

The Israelis and the Palestinians are as bad as each other. To argue one's moral superiority over the other is redundant, as both sides appear to be utterly malignant and stupid as pigswill to boot. Neither of them seem to understand the concept that if one of them stops the violence, the other one will probably stop too. Neither side has really produced any serious leaders or movements gunning for outright peace, and both are currently led by murdering shits who care only to exploit the violence for their own political gain. Don't the Palestinians realise that a system of peaceful protest will work? Don't the Israelis realise that having those moron settlers in the middle of Palestinian land is inherently dumb? Don't both sides realise they are being played off each other by the surrounding Arab states who want Israel gone and care not one iota for the well-being of the Palestinian people?

 

Seriously, its an exact mirror of the Northern Ireland conflict. There, no side was in the right. Not the Loyalists and not the IRA. They were simply a bunch of miserable bigoted shits fighting each other and killing their own people, which is exactly what is happening in Israel right now.

[Guest Anglesault]

'Patience??

 

Israel will respond in kind on a greater scale in no time at all in a 'revenge' offensive and kill three times as many palestinians.

Good. Maybe after enough of this these assholes will finally stop blowing themselves up. And I don't care what you say, Israel is still holding back.

 

Do you have a better solution?

[Guest TheMikeSC]

The Israelis and the Palestinians are as bad as each other. To argue one's moral superiority over the other is redundant, as both sides appear to be utterly malignant and stupid as pigswill to boot. Neither of them seem to understand the concept that if one of them stops the violence, the other one will probably stop too. Neither side has really produced any serious leaders or movements gunning for outright peace, and both are currently led by murdering shits who care only to exploit the violence for their own political gain. Don't the Palestinians realise that a system of peaceful protest will work? Don't the Israelis realise that having those moron settlers in the middle of Palestinian land is inherently dumb? Don't both sides realise they are being played off each other by the surrounding Arab states who want Israel gone and care not one iota for the well-being of the Palestinian people?

 

Seriously, its an exact mirror of the Northern Ireland conflict. There, no side was in the right. Not the Loyalists and not the IRA. They were simply a bunch of miserable bigoted shits fighting each other and killing their own people, which is exactly what is happening in Israel right now.

No, they are NOT morally equal here. In EVERY instance, the violence is INITIATED by Palestinians. Israel can do nothing and they will CONTINUE bombing.

 

Israel responds because, honestly, they have no OTHER alternatives. Kill or be killed.

 

Israel TRIED for a while there. They were willing to give Palestine almost EVERYTHING those sub-human little monkeys wanted (anybody who will willingly TARGET innocent civilians lost the rights to being called "human", BTW) and they STILL didn't want to stop the violence. Israel was willing to negotiate. They've had to negotiate with people who have a STATED goal of THEIR OUTRIGHT ANNIHILATION.

 

But they STILL negotiated honestly. How in the world can ANYBODY blame Israel here?

 

What would you propose Israel do?

 

This is not like Northern Ireland. Israel is surrounded by countries who ALL want to kill every single Jew in "their" region. They have shown unspeakable restraint up to this point.

 

Heck, Palestine should follow one of Booker T's old sayings :

 

"If you don't start none, there won't be none"

-=Mike --- Who thinks Israel should be less nice and friendly

[Guest EricMM]

I was watching this forum of kids talking with Tony Blair last night on MTV of all places. On it, this girl from Spain challanged Blair about the Middle East situation, asking him how they could support the Israelis, since the Israelis couldn't fight fair, and how come they called it Terrorism when that's the only way the Palastinians could fight.

 

You know what? I don't care if the Palastinians can only fight with suicide bombers. Suicide bombing is "fighting" anyway, it IS terrorism. If the Palastinians had anything better, they'd STILL be terrorists, but instead of using bombs, they'd be using even more devastating weapons to kill civilians.

 

Since they don't have the weapons to fight a war, they SHOULDN'T be trying to fight a war. They're just being insane. They're a dominated people, and so they need to know their roles. Many dominated peoples in history have achieved everything they wanted, but never through violence. Was Apartheid ended because S.Africans blowing up night clubs? Did the Indians become their own nation by attacking the British? No. And the Palastinians need to stop acting like they have the violent option. Every dead Palastinian killing in crossfire needs to lain at the feet of Palastinian terrorsts, NOT Israeli soldiers.

[Guest The Hamburglar]

Well, obviously. Its not so much Israeli military strikes that are repugnant, although they are a little excessive, but that's part of the conflict. Its the way the Israelis will abuse their power and treat Palestinian civilians like dirt that is truly unpleasant. And of course you're right, Eric, the Palestinians are being truly stupid, as their approach can never work and all it does is give the reigns of power in Israel to guttersnipes like Ariel Sharon. And this talk of Israel showing "restraint" is ridiculous. Suicide bombs or not, they can't go around ethnically cleansing a whole group of people, and given Israeli history I would like to believe that the Israeli people would never approve of such actions.