Bomb explodes in Arab message to 'criminal' Sharon

By PHIL REEVES Herald correspondent

JERUSALEM - Less than 48 hours after Ariel Sharon was elected prime minister of Israel, a car bomb exploded in Jerusalem in an attack that had the hallmarks of an attempt by his Arab opponents to signal that they will not be deterred by their arch-enemy's return to power.

The powerful bomb, in an ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood close to the unmarked boundary with Arab east Jerusalem, sent a cloud of black smoke curling over the rooftops of the holy city, a signature of violence with which its residents are all too familiar.

The bomb was claimed by a previously unknown group. The Palestinian Popular Resistance Forces said its "Sabra and Shatila Martyrs Group" – named after the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians in refugee camps during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon orchestrated by Mr Sharon – had carried out the attack.

It was "a first message directed to the criminal and fascist Sharon", said a faxed statement.

The bomb reduced the car in which it detonated to mangled shreds but only one person – a woman – was slightly hurt, while nine other people were treated for shock.

The Jerusalem police chief, Miki Levi, said it was a "very large bomb", adding that it was a "miracle no one was killed".

That view was evidently shared by a gaggle of ultra-Orthodox men, who soon gathered in the street to sing and dance in celebration of a narrow escape – proof, they felt, that the community, which borders on the religious Mea Shearim quarter, was protected by God.

One man brandished a piece of wreckage while others danced around him, singing "Lord, We Love You".

Asked why they were in such jovial spirits, one young man said: "They are very happy because they know there has been a miracle. It means God love us." This is perceived as the second recent proof of this.

A few weeks ago a bomb was defused nearby, again without casualties.

Mr Sharon said the bomb was "another tragic event which demands we all unite to act with determination against terror".

He said the job of responding still laid with Ehud Barak, whom he defeated in Tuesday's election but who remains prime minister until a new government is formed.

Mr Sharon said: "My position on this is very clear. Negotiations for peace are very important and the government I head will make every effort to make peace but the condition for peace negotiations [with the Palestinians] is an end to terror and violence."

Mr Barak issued a statement condemning the bombing as an "attempt to undermine the strength of the Israeli people that will not succeed".

He said that Israel would continue to fight terrorism and strike at whoever tries to hurt them.

"Personal security, quiet and respect will be achieved at the end of the road only through a physical separation between us and the Palestinians."

Shortly before the bomb, George Bush telephoned the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to urge him to help stop the violence in the region.

However, there is abundant evidence that Palestinian militants who have carried out bombings against pre-1967 Israel in the past are not under the latter's control.

Palestinians will also argue that bringing peace also depends on Israel, whose troops have killed hundreds of Arabs, assassinated at least 20 alleged guerrilla activists and imposed strict blockades on their towns and cities.

Although Mr Sharon is far from completing the arduous task of building a coalition with which to govern, he has made it clear – as was always obvious – that he has no interest in picking up negotiations with the Palestinians at the point they had reached under Mr Barak during the last round at Taba, Egypt.

"Everything that was spoken about or said... is not binding on Israel or any government," Zalman Shoval, a senior Sharon adviser, told Israel Radio.

The Palestinians were quick to seize the publicity advantage. Ahmed Abdel-Rahman, an aide to Mr Arafat, said this showed "a desire of the extremist camp to move the clock backwards... destroy peace accords and abort efforts to revive the peace process".

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