Military

DATE=7/12/2005

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ISRAEL/NETANYA/BOMBING

NUMBER=2-325876

BYLINE= SONJA PACE

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

///WATCH WIRES FOR CASUALTY FIGURES AND UPDATE INTRO ACCORDINGLY///

HEADLINE: Several Killed, Dozens Injured in Israel Suicide Bombing

INTRO: A suicide bomber set off an explosion in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, killing himself and at least two people and injuring around 30 more. The extremist group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. VOA's Sonja Pace reports from Jerusalem.

TEXT: The bomb went off shortly before 7 pm just outside a busy shopping mall in Netanya.

The attack shattered a calm that had held - with some exceptions - since Israel and the Palestinians agreed to a truce in early February. A few weeks into that truce a suicide bomber from Islamic Jihad blew himself up outside a Tel Aviv nightclub.

Tuesday's attack comes at a sensitive time as Israel prepares to withdraw its settlements from the Gaza Strip and small portions of the West Bank.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat was quick to condemn the bombing as the work of those who want to sabotage that withdrawal and a return to the peace process.

The attack is sure to increase pressure on the Palestinian leadership to control the militants. (SIGNED)

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