
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 14, 1994                   TAG: 9404140349
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Cox News Service note: lede
DATELINE: HADERA, ISRAEL                                 LENGTH: Medium

ANOTHER BOMB ROCKS ISRAEL

Israel was jolted by violence during its most patriotic of holidays Wednesday when an apparent suicide bomb attack on a bus packed with civilians and soldiers killed six Israelis and injured about 30.

The bombing was carried out by an Islamic militant group seeking to cripple the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

The morning attack - the third lethal assault inside Israel in a week - left a bloodstained Memorial Day and was another reminder that Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization have been unable to execute their much-heralded peace blueprint reached last September.

Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, claimed responsibility for the bombing and said it was the second of five planned attacks aimed at derailing the peace process. It said the attacks also were in retaliation for February's slaughter of at least 29 Muslim worshipers by a Jewish settler in Hebron.

Israeli leaders sought to reassure their jittery countrymen and vowed to continue the peace process. Negotiations with the PLO are scheduled to resume Sunday.

``Beyond the bloodshed and car bombs and explosives, we will continue to extend the hand of peace,'' Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said at a ceremony in Jerusalem. ``Despite the difficulties, we will continue on the journey to peace.''

In Washington, President Clinton condemned the attack as ``a further attempt by extremists to derail the peace process.'' He added, ``they must not be allowed to succeed.''

The State Department urged PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat to condemn the latest bombing. In a letter to Clinton delivered through the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia, Tuesday night, Arafat strongly rejected the recent spate of attacks in Israel and said they were designed to destroy Arab-Israeli relations.

The attack in Hadera left many residents of this security-minded nation feeling particularly vulnerable. Large outdoor Independence Day celebrations are set for today at parks and beaches.

Police Commissioner Rafi Peled said that despite the restrictive security measures, ``we don't have the answer [to prevent] every attack.''

Opposition leaders called for the Israel-PLO accord to be scrapped. Dozens of protesters who gathered outside Hadera's bus terminal agreed. Some of the demonstrators shouted, ``Death to the Arabs!'' and ``Rabin, the traitor!''

Many of the 70 passengers on bus No. 820 as it began to pull away from the Hadera terminal were heading to holiday observances - Wednesday marked Israel's annual remembrance of fallen soldiers, and today is the country's 46th anniversary.

An Islamic militant believed to be from the West Bank boarded the crowded bus in Hadera. Police said the explosives were either in a bag or rigged to his body. Police said he died in the blast, but it was uncertain whether he intended to detonate the bomb on the bus or it exploded prematurely.

As police cleared the area, a second bomb left on a bench exploded about 20 yards from the bus. No one was injured in the second blast.

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB