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March 7, 2003/Adar2 3 5763, Vol. 55, No. 28
Period of calm ends in Israel
NAOMI SEGAL
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
A suicide bus bombing in Haifa has shattered a relative period of calm in Israel and served as a stark reminder to a country bracing for the possible implications of a U.S.-led war against Iraq.
With the United States stepping up military and diplomatic preparations for a possible strike against Iraq, much of Israel was focused this week on when a war might break out and whether it would affect Israel.
But the focus changed abruptly March 5 when at least 15 people were killed and more than 30 wounded in a suicide bombing on a Haifa bus.
It was the first time terrorists had succeeded in carrying out a suicide bombing in Israel since Jan. 5, when 23 people were killed. after two suicide bombers launched an attack near Tel Aviv.
But Israeli security and political officials stressed that the feeling of quiet was only an illusion, and that Israel has thwarted numerous attempted bombings since the Tel Aviv attack.
Ya'acov Borovsky, the police chief of the northern district, noted that there were some 50 alerts for possible terrorist attacks across Israel on March 5.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. But Hamas and Islamic Jihad praised the bombing, saying it came in response to Israeli military actions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
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