ISRAEL: STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED AFTER BOMBING IN JERUSALEM скачать в хорошем качестве

ISRAEL: STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED AFTER BOMBING IN JERUSALEM

(31 Jul 1997) Hebrew/Eng/Nat A state of emergency has been declared in the West Bank and Gaza after the Jerusalem bombings that killed at least 14 people and injured more than 150. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat condemned the atrocity and ordered the arrest of militant Muslims. A leaflet said to be from Hamas claimed the fundamentalist organisation was behind the attack. It demanded the freedom of the group's jailed spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, as well as the immediate release of all Hamas and other Palestinian and Arab prisoners. The clean up has begun in the Jerusalem marketplace where a pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up on Wednesday, killing at least 14 other people and injuring 150. The carnage was strewn around Mahane Yehuda, Jerusalem's main fruit and vegetable market, which had been packed with shoppers at the time of the explosions. Teams of workers started the process during the afternoon and work was still under way into the evening. In Tel Aviv, anxious relatives were still arriving at the Israeli Pathology Centre to try to identify some of the bodies. Many feared the worst. SOUNDBITE: (Hebrew) "The minute I saw the pictures on television, I knew something happened, I simply recognised the place he used to work in, then I was looking for him at all hospitals. I couldn't find him at the lists, so I decided to come here, I found him here." SUPER CAPTION: Rafi, relative of bombing victim These are the two men believed to have carried out the bombing. They were so committed to their cause, they were willing to die for it. The attacks appeared to have been carefully synchronised, with the two men carrying briefcases packed with explosives and nails. This leaflet signed by Hamas claimed responsibility and demanded the release of the group's jailed spiritual leader, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, and all other Palestinian prisoners. The leaflet said the demands must be met by August 3, but did not say what would happen if they were not. However, Sheik Abdel Aziz Rantisi, the second in command in Hamas' political leadership, cast doubt on the claim's authenticity, saying "the tone of the leaflet is unusual". The bombings prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet to hold an emergency session. It suspended peace talks with the Palestinians - which resumed this week after a four- month deadlock - until Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat acts against the militants "with determination," according to reports on Israel TV. The double blast achieved its short term aim - to disrupt the Middle East peace process. It brought about the postponement of a peace mission by the US envoy to the Middle East, Dennis Ross. Some analysts said a solution could still be found, but time was of the essence. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We got to go to a fast track final status talks, final disposition of territories and wind up this peace process. If we don't, if we don't go to the end of the game my fear is that we are going to see a train wreck in slow motion. The more we stretch it out, the more of a danger it is." SUPER CAPTION: David Makovsky, Israeli political analyst But not all were convinced the process would move forward. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Unfortunately this explosion is going to make a set back of the peace process, that was so fragile in the first place. And I think that unfortunately it is going to give an excuse to the Israeli side to further postpone the peace talks and peace negotiations." SUPER CAPTION: Ghassan Khatib, Palestinian political analyst SOUNDBITE: (English) Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...