Two Israeli teenagers were killed and 26 other people wounded, 9 of them seriously, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a pizzeria in a shopping center in Karnei Shomron, east of Kalkilya, Saturday night. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for the attack, the first suicide bombing in a West Bank community.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will convene an expanded forum of the security cabinet today to discuss the escalation of Palestinian violence and possible Israeli retaliatory actions. Referring to terrorist attacks over the weekend, in which five Israeli soldiers and the two teenagers were killed, Sharon defined what Israel was facing as "war."

The actions of the suicide bomber in Karnei Shomron were

"Everything here is burnt and broken" - rescue worker in Karnei Shomron

captured on film by surveillance cameras at the community's Yuvalim shopping center shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday night. At that time, the center was crowded, mainly with young people out to enjoy themselves at the end of the Jewish Sabbath.

"I saw a guy dressed in black, coming towards the pizzeria," Vered Weiss, 17, told Maariv. "I don't remember exactly what he looked like. I looked at his back, and then heard a loud explosion, and he was gone. People were lying on the floor. Others were running and there were horrific cries that are still ringing in my ears."

Nehemia Amar and Keren Shatzky, both 15-year-old residents of Karnei Shomron, were killed in the blast. Eyewitnesses at the scene told of massive damage caused to the pizzeria and nearby stores. "Everything here is burnt and broken," said a rescue worker.

Police and security officials estimate that the bomb contained some 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of explosives. Property damage and the number of injuries would have been much greater if the attack had occurred in an indoor shopping mall, officials said. Many of the injured were reported suffering wounds caused by nails included in the bomb.

Local residents complained of the lack of security precautions at the shopping center, and in general in the community of Karnei Shomron. Palestinian workers reportedly have free access to the center, and security checks are minimal. Udi Lieberman, head of the Karnei Shomron Local Council, told Israel Radio that the fence encompassing the community was incomplete.

Lieberman cautioned residents from taking security matters into their own hands after a few said they would physically prevent the entrance of Palestinian workers into the community. At the Karnei Shomron shopping center's opening ceremony a year ago, Lieberman had announced that it was built for both Jews and Arabs, and would encourage a policy of coexistence, Ha'aretz reported.

Paratrooper killed at roadblock; Duvdevan commander killed in Saida
On Friday night at least two terrorists managed to surprise IDF soldiers stationed at a roadblock in the village of Surda, north of Ramallah. The terrorists approached the soldiers in the fog, opened fire and killed St.-Sgt. Lee Nahman Akunis, 20, of Holon. Another soldier attempted to come to Akunis's assistance, but the terrorists jumped him and ran off with his weapon. A third soldier reportedly fired at the fleeing terrorists, but did not hit them.

The Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade claimed responsibility for the Surda attack, which military sources believe was well planned. IDF officials launched an investigation into the incident, and will question why, despite warnings, only three soldiers were stationed at the roadblock, and how the terrorists managed to come into physical contact with the soldiers without being discerned and succeeded in stealing one of their weapons.

The death of Lt.-Col. Eyal Weiss, 34, commander of the elite anti-terror "Duvdevan" (Cherry) unit during an operation near Tulkarm on Friday was termed a "tragic case of bad luck, an incident that was unavoidable," by OC Central Command Maj.-Gen Yitzhak Eitan. Weiss was killed when a wall collapsed on him as he questioned Islamic Jihad activist Jasser Abdel Radad in the village of Saida.

Islamic Jihad militant Anwar Ghani was killed and five others were arrested during the terrorist roundup in the village. Radad barricaded himself in his home and threw grenades at the soldiers trying to arrest him. When an armored IDF bulldozer began destroying the house, Radad surrendered. Weiss was interrogating him some 20 meters away as the bulldozer continued its work. Portions of the ceiling of the house apparently broke off, hitting the wall near Weiss and causing it to collapse and kill him. Radad and the other soldiers nearby were not injured.

Israeli Air Force bombs Palestinian targets in Nablus, Gaza
Following Saturday night's suicide bombing attack in Karnei Shomron, IAF jets and attack helicopters bombed Palestinian Authority targets in Nablus. Missiles were fired at PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's headquarters in the city, as well as at the Government Building and the Blue Police headquarters. Palestinians said the strikes caused heavy damage, but there were no reports of injuries.

Earlier on Saturday, Hamas military commander Nazih Abu Sabaa, 30, was killed when a booby-trapped car exploded in Jenin. Palestinian officials blamed Israel for Sabaa's elimination and Hamas vowed to avenge his death. Israeli security officials declined to respond to the charges but noted that Sabaa, on Israel's most-wanted list, was involved in several terror attacks, including most recently, the December bus bombing in Haifa which killed 15 Israelis.

Three Palestinians were killed in gun battles with IDF troops in the El Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Army operations in and around the camp on Friday and Saturday were intended to prevent further Palestinian attacks on the Karni-Netzarim highway, such as Thursday's attack on a Merkava tank, in which three IDF soldiers were killed. In response to the Merkava attack, Israeli jets also hit Palestinian security facilities in the Jabaliya refugee camp east of Gaza City with several missiles. One Palestinian policeman was killed, and some 35 people were reported injured in the IAF attack.

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