Cut and pasted from Lucianne.

Several people are reported to have been killed and dozens wounded after an explosion ripped through a large Jewish settlement on the West Bank.

-- Anonymous, October 27, 2002

Answers

Suicide bomber strikes at Jewish settlement in West Bank

LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press Writer Sunday, October 27, 2002

(10-27) 01:34 PDT JERUSALEM (AP) --

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives Sunday at a gas station next to the entrance of the Jewish settlement of Ariel in the West Bank, causing a large number of casualties, officials said.

Three people were killed and about 30 others were wounded, said Shlomo Bloch, a spokesman for the volunteer Israeli rescue service ZAKA.

The Israeli military said in an initial report that at least 16 people were injured, but it could not confirm any deaths.

Rami Sonnenfeld, a police commander at the scene, said the bomber arrived at the gas station and was spotted by soldiers.

"They called on him and approached him," Sonnenfeld told Israeli Radio. "As they were trying to overpower him, the terrorist blew up and a number of people were injured."

Ariel is one of the largest settlements in the West Bank and is located north of Jerusalem.

Palestinian militants have targeted Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip throughout the 2-year-old Palestinian uprising.

"Once again, the vicious agenda of Palestinian terrorists has taken its toll," said David Baker, an official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office.

"Like spectators, the Palestinian Authority stands by and does nothing while Palestinian terrorists continue to wage a campaign of terror against Israeli civilians."

The Palestinian Authority, led by Yasser Arafat, has condemned bombings of Israeli civilians and says its security forces are unable to act against Palestinian militant groups because Israeli troops have taken over most cities in the West Bank.

-- Anonymous, October 27, 2002