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CNN Live At Daybreak
Fifth Suicide Attack in Fewer Than 48 Hours
Aired May 20, 2003 - 05:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: For the fifth time in fewer than 48 hours, a suicide bomber targeted Israeli citizens. The latest attack took place at a shopping mall in Afula, in northern Israel.
Our Kelly Wallace has more on this trail of terror.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was just about 5:30, a busy time at the Afula Mall in northern Israel, when the suicide bomber struck. The 19-year-old woman from a West Bank town just 15 miles away, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources, tried to get inside. But when she could not get past a security guard, she blew herself up at the entrance.
This man, an owner of a restaurant inside the mall, arrived just a few minutes before the blast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To come and do things like this, to see the men in the eyes before you blow this up and you take him with you -- I saw pieces of legs here in my car. This is the paper that was in the car. It was blood on it.
WALLACE (on camera): The explosion was so powerful it blew the shopping mall entrance apart. Israeli emergency workers and volunteers then combed through the shattered glass and faced the grim task of looking for body parts, an all too familiar ritual after more than 90 suicide bombings in two and a half years. It was the fifth suicide attack in just 48 hours.
(voice-over): Two radical Palestinian groups, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aksa Martyr Brigades, claimed responsibility. Another group, Hamas, claimed responsibility for the four other bombings, including the most deadly one, a Sunday bus bombing in a Jerusalem neighborhood which took the lives of six Israelis and one Palestinian.
Israeli officials call it the tip of a tidal wave of terror attacks, charging the attackers are declaring war on the new government of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. Aides to Prime Minister Sharon say they need to see action and now from Abbas to crack down on these Palestinian groups. But Palestinians say they need to see Israel accept and implement the so-called road map for Middle East peace so Abbas will have some leverage to convince radical Palestinian groups to disarm.
Back in Afula, despite what he saw this night, this 24-year-old manager of the restaurant inside the mall said he's still hopeful. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no other way except peace. Everybody knows it's the hard way, but it's the only way.
WALLACE (on camera): Just hours after the blast, the debris has been all cleared away, part of another Israeli ritual, trying to get back to normal as quickly as possible. But with the radical groups vowing more attacks, the question many Israelis are asking is when will there be another one and what impact will these bombings have on a road map already facing many roadblocks along the way?
Kelly Wallace, CNN, Afula, in northern Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And we'll have much more on the violence in the Middle East a little later. Jerrold Kessel will join us live from Jerusalem in about 30 minutes.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 20, 2003 - 05:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: For the fifth time in fewer than 48 hours, a suicide bomber targeted Israeli citizens. The latest attack took place at a shopping mall in Afula, in northern Israel.
Our Kelly Wallace has more on this trail of terror.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was just about 5:30, a busy time at the Afula Mall in northern Israel, when the suicide bomber struck. The 19-year-old woman from a West Bank town just 15 miles away, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources, tried to get inside. But when she could not get past a security guard, she blew herself up at the entrance.
This man, an owner of a restaurant inside the mall, arrived just a few minutes before the blast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To come and do things like this, to see the men in the eyes before you blow this up and you take him with you -- I saw pieces of legs here in my car. This is the paper that was in the car. It was blood on it.
WALLACE (on camera): The explosion was so powerful it blew the shopping mall entrance apart. Israeli emergency workers and volunteers then combed through the shattered glass and faced the grim task of looking for body parts, an all too familiar ritual after more than 90 suicide bombings in two and a half years. It was the fifth suicide attack in just 48 hours.
(voice-over): Two radical Palestinian groups, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aksa Martyr Brigades, claimed responsibility. Another group, Hamas, claimed responsibility for the four other bombings, including the most deadly one, a Sunday bus bombing in a Jerusalem neighborhood which took the lives of six Israelis and one Palestinian.
Israeli officials call it the tip of a tidal wave of terror attacks, charging the attackers are declaring war on the new government of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. Aides to Prime Minister Sharon say they need to see action and now from Abbas to crack down on these Palestinian groups. But Palestinians say they need to see Israel accept and implement the so-called road map for Middle East peace so Abbas will have some leverage to convince radical Palestinian groups to disarm.
Back in Afula, despite what he saw this night, this 24-year-old manager of the restaurant inside the mall said he's still hopeful. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no other way except peace. Everybody knows it's the hard way, but it's the only way.
WALLACE (on camera): Just hours after the blast, the debris has been all cleared away, part of another Israeli ritual, trying to get back to normal as quickly as possible. But with the radical groups vowing more attacks, the question many Israelis are asking is when will there be another one and what impact will these bombings have on a road map already facing many roadblocks along the way?
Kelly Wallace, CNN, Afula, in northern Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And we'll have much more on the violence in the Middle East a little later. Jerrold Kessel will join us live from Jerusalem in about 30 minutes.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
