Military

DATE=5/19/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS (L-UPDATE)

NUMBER=2-303380

BYLINE=ROSS DUNN

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

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INTRO: A suspected Palestinian woman suicide bomber is reported to have killed at least four Israelis and wounded 15 others -- the fifth such bombing in the past three days. Ross Dunn reports from Jerusalem.

TEXT: Officials said the suicide bomber set off the blast after a security guard prevented her from entering a shopping mall in Afula. The town is located midway between Tel Aviv and the Galilee region and close to the northern West Bank.

Police said the attacker detonated the bomb near an entrance to the mall where shoppers were waiting in line for a security check. Israeli police sealed off the area, as ambulance workers rushed the injured to nearby hospitals.

The attack came despite a stringent closure imposed by Israel on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Earlier Monday, another Palestinian riding a bicycle blew himself up alongside a military jeep in the Gaza Strip, wounding three soldiers.

On Sunday, a Palestinian suicide bomber killed at least seven Israelis on a commuter bus in Jerusalem.

Amid the wave of attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has postponed a planned trip to Washington, where he was to hold talks with President Bush on the road-map to peace plan.

David Baker, an official in Mr. Sharon's office, says the latest attack shows Palestinian terrorists have launched a campaign to strike at Israeli citizens at every opportunity.

Israel has also imposed further sanctions against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, holding him ultimately responsible for the latest violence.

The Israeli Cabinet has placed a ban on any contacts with visiting foreign diplomats or ministers who meet with Mr. Arafat.

The ban has been imposed despite Mr. Arafat's public condemnation of the bombings. (Signed)

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