After a suicide bomber killed nine and injured 60 in Tel Aviv yesterday, Israel is considering an all out strike against the Palestinian Authority.
Israel already retaliated with a strike on a Gaza metal workshop, an attack in which no one was injured or killed. Then Israeli forces raided a small village near Jenin, arresting the father of the suicide bomber.
Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas official spokesperson, called the attack “a natural result of the continued Israeli crimes against our people.”
Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, has however officially condemned the suicide attack.
Since the Palestinian people voted Hamas into power, it has not yet removed one of the most controversial statements from their charter, namely the destruction of Israel. Hamas has come under heavy pressure by the whole world, even by Arabic neighbors, to remove the statement.
Yesterdays’ bombing was the first after Hamas came to power in Palestine three months ago.
Israel’s acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is said to consider an all out attack on Hamas officials.
Israeli officials however, seem reluctant to confirm the all-out attack.
“We will know how to respond, and will continue to act with all the means at our disposal to prevent further terror attempts,” he said. On Tuesday, Mofaz will meet again with Olmert to formulate an Israeli response to the attack.
“Don't expect to see tanks rolling into Nablus," one official said to the Israel News Agency. “But we will launch more widespread operations against the Islamic Jihad.”
