At least two people have been killed and dozens injured in two apparent suicide attacks by Palestinian bombers in Israel and the West Bank.
In the first attack, an explosion ripped through a shopping centre in the central Israeli town of Rosh Haayin near Tel Aviv, killing one person and
the suspected bomber and injuring at least 10 others, police said.
The police said they believed the bomber had detonated a charge he was carrying - possibly in a backpack or in a belt - after being challenged by a
security guard.
Shortly afterwards, another suicide bomber blew himself up among a group of Israeli soldiers at a bus stop outside the Jewish settlement of Ariel, in
the West Bank, police said. One Israeli was killed.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the BBC's Simon Wilson in Jerusalem says they are undoubtedly the severest threat yet
to the period of relative calm since the main Palestinian militant groups announced a unilateral ceasefire in June.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon responded to the bombings by delaying the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners, government sources said.
Israelis officials said the latest attacks showed that the Palestinian Authority (PA) must dismantle Palestinian terrorist groups before both sides
could move forward to implement the US-backed peace plan, known as the roadmap.
"No hudna (truce), no diplomacy, nothing, just the complete dismantling of the terrorist groups," senior adviser to Mr Sharon, Dore Gold, said.
But senior Palestinian legislator Saeb Erekat rejected the Israeli accusation that the attacks happened due to the inaction of the PA, urging the both
sides "to continue the engagement with the roadmap".
Devastation
In Rosh Haayin, the suspect bomber detonated the explosives at the entrance to a supermarket, leaving a mass of twisted...
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