Five Israelis were killed today and over 90 people were injured in three separate terrorist attacks. Two suicide bombings, one outside the Nahariya train station and one at the Beit Lid intersection near Netanya followed a fatal shooting attack in the Jordan Valley this morning.

Arab Israeli blamed in Nahariya bombing that killed 3
An Arab citizen of Israel is believed to be the suicide bomber who blew himself up near the platform of the Nahariya train station. Magen David Adom reports that four people were killed, including the bomber, and some 80 people were injured in the attack, seven reportedly with moderate wounds, the rest injured lightly. According to media reports, many of the injured were soldiers, who were on their way to their bases in Israel's north.

The suicide bomber was identified by police as Muhammad Shakher Havishi, 48, a resident of the village of Abu Snan in the Galilee, and an activist in the Islamic movement. Last year he reportedly ran unsuccessfully for public office in the village. This is the first time that a suicide attack in Israel has been carried out by an Arab citizen, and Israeli Arab officials sought to distance themselves from the bomber. Israeli security forces reportedly have been pursuing him for the past ten days.

The police identification of Havishi was based on an identity card found near the remains of the bomber. DNA testing is underway to confirm the identification. Havishi was a known activist in the Ra'ad Tzalah faction of the Islamic Movement. Several days ago, security forces were informed that Havishi had left his home and joined senior Hamas activists in the Jenin area. Repeated appeals by Israel to the Palestinian Authority to stop Adouan reportedly went unheeded.

Israel reportedly appealed to senior PA officials and requested that Havishi be located, detained, and sent back to Israel. The officials, Israeli security sources say, replied that Havishi was not in PA territory, despite the fact that the Israelis provided specific evidence that Havishi was with Hamas leaders in Jenin and intended to perpetrate a suicide-attack. The PA did nothing to detain Havishi. Last weekend, in the wake of additional information that reached the security forces to the effect that Havishi was still in the Jenin area, Israel appealed again to senior PA officials to act towards detaining Havishi and foiling his plans. Once again, the Israelis claimed, the PA did not act to prevent the bombing.

According to Northern District police commander Yaacov Borovsky, the suicide bomber, after noting heavy security at the station, detonated his explosives in a shop near the platform at a time when many soldiers were disembarking from a northbound train. Media reports indicate that the bomber triggered the explosion after a policeman had demanded identification. Police sources noted that there had frequent warnings of potential terrorist attacks in Israel's north, but nothing specific indicating an attack in Nahariya.

According to media reports, both the Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the Nahariya attack. The Hizbullah's Lebanese television station reported that the bomber was a Hamas member and resident of a refugee camp in Lebanon who crossed into Israel this morning.

The identification of the Nahariya suicide bomber as an Israeli citizen sparked a furor among Jews and Arabs in Israel, and politicians were quick to draw conclusions. In the reputed bomber's home town of Abu Snan, with a population that is two-thirds Druze and boasts IDF soldiers among its residents, there was condemnation of Havishi for "blackening the name" of their town. Some Druze residents were quoted as calling for the destruction of Havishi's house and even the expulsion of his family.

According to Haaretz, residents of Abu Snan reported that Israeli security forces re-arrested Havishi's son Sunday afternoon. They said the security forces entered the village and began searching several houses whose residents are affiliated with the Israeli Islamic Movement. Havishi's son, 20, a devout Muslim who was initially arrested ten days ago when the search for his father began, but was later released due to lack of evidence. He is suspected of assisting his father. Following the investigation, he will be brought before the Acre Magistrate's Court.

"The revelation that an Israeli Arab is the attacker in Nahariya", said opposition MK Michael Kleiner (Herut party) in a press release, "killed the separation plan before it was born. The public will judge if it is possible to separate between the Palestinians of Umm El-Fahm [an Israeli Arab city] and Afulah [a nearby Jewish city] and if it is possible to set up a fence and minefield between Jaffo and Tel Aviv [merged Arab and Jewish sections of Israel's largest coastal city]. There is no difference between a terrorist from Gaza and a terrorist who is an Israeli citizen. They are both motivated by the same hatred and the same goals and the only solution that we have is deterrence and not the building of another Maginot Line or Bar Lev Line that is destined to collapse."

Fatal shooting attack in Jordan Valley
Earlier this morning, two Israelis were killed when Palestinians opened fire on a minibus transporting teachers in the Jordan Valley. Shortly after eight a.m. a vehicle bearing Palestinian license plates reportedly drove past the bus and opened fire with assault rifles. The attack occurred just south of the Adam Bridge Junction, not far from the border crossing into Jordan.

The driver of the minibus and a kindergarten teacher suffered mortal wounds in the shooting. One other teacher was moderately wounded, and two others were lightly wounded when the bus crashed after the attack.

The victims of the attack were identified as Sima Franco, 24, a kindergarten teacher from Beit Shean on her way to her job in Kibbutz Gilgal, and Koby Hatzav, 42, from the Jordan Valley settlement of Homra.

Security forces immediately closed the highway and began an intensive search for the terrorists' vehicle, but apparently the assailants managed to escape into Palestinian-controlled territories.

Orit Artzieli, spokesperson for the Jordan Valley Regional Council, told ynet that the minibus had not been reinforced against gunfire attacks due to financial difficulties. "We did not expect attacks like this on Highway 90," she said.

The Yesha Council has called on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to demand that Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres cancel his planned meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat in the wake of the latest terror attacks.

ynet adds that Highway 90, the main Jordan Valley north-south transportation artery, has lately become a "ghost road" due to the outbreak of shooting attacks, and that the only people who now travel on the highway are Jordan Valley residents.

The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the Jordan Valley attack, saying that it was in retaliation for Israeli actions against Palestinians in the territories.

A "miracle" near Netanya: car bomb kills no Israelis
A car bomb exploded early this afternoon at the Beit Lid intersection near Netanya. Initial reports indicate that a suicide bomber inside the vehicle was killed and twelve people were injured in the blast, one with moderate injuries. Extensive damage was reported to vehicles in the area.

According to media reports, a number of mortar shells were inside the car that exploded. Police spokesmen said the fact that the car exploded in the middle of the intersection next to an empty bus was a "miracle" as the terrorist may have been on his way to Netanya.

"I was on my way to pick up more students," bus driver Abed Azbarga told ynet. "A car pulled up next to me and I heard an explosion and saw smoke. The front windshield of the bus was shattered." Azbarga added that he believed the fact that the bus's windows were tinted prevented the bomber from realizing that it was empty when he detonated his explosives.

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