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| Tuesday, 13 July 2004 |
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Sharon points finger at world court after deadly bus bomb ISRAELI, Monday (AFP) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pointed the finger at a world court ruling against his government's West Bank barrier after Palestinian militants carried out their first deadly attack inside Israel in months. A young woman soldier was killed and 20 people wounded when a bomb placed next to a bus stop in the commercial capital exploded at the start of the morning rush hour on the first day of the working week. The victim was named as 19-year-old Sergeant Maayan Naim, from a southern suburb of Tel Aviv. The city's police chief Yossi Setbon said that a device had been concealed in shrubbery. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a militant group linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, swiftly claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to AFP. An anonymous spokesman said it was carried out to avenge crimes committed by Israeli forces in the West Bank town of Nablus and in the Gaza Strip, where troops recently carried out deadly raids. The attack came just two days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dealt a stunning blow to Israel by declaring its West Bank separation barrier illegal, and ruling that the parts built on Palestinian territory be torn down. Sharon's government has argued that the recent fall in attacks by Palestinians in Israel is a direct result of the barrier, about a third of which has been built so far. "The murderous act that was carried out this morning was the first to occur under the patronage of the world court's decision," Sharon said in his first public reaction to the advisory judgement. "The ruling totally ignores the reason behind the construction of the security barrier which is Palestinian terrorism. "It is not without reason that the Palestinians are fighting against construction of the fence. They are well aware that completion of the fence will make it very difficult for them to continue with their acts of murder."
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