The December 2005 HaSharon Mall bombing was a terror attack carried out on December 5, 2005, in the HaSharon Mall in Netanya, Israel. Five people were killed and over forty injured in the attack.
The Palestinian Islamist militant organization Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
The attack On Monday, 5 December 2005, at around 11:30 am, a Palestinian suicide bomber approached the entrance to the HaSharon Mall in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya; he detonated explosives hidden under his clothes when he approached the guards at the entrance for security inspection. Five people were killed in the attack, and more than 40 injured.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility and identified the attacker as Lotfi Abu Saada, from the village of Illar in northern West Bank.Five killed in Israeli shopping centre blast, The Guardian, 5 December 2005 In response, Israel killed two senior militants in a Gaza airstrike.Two Gaza militants, one Israeli killed in flare-up, The Star Online, 8 December 2005
Reactions : Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas denounced the attack, stating, "This operation against civilians causes the most serious harm to our commitment to the peace process and the Palestinian Authority will not go easy on whoever is found to be responsible for this operation." : Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom stated that the attack was "additional proof of the inaction of the Palestinian Authority under [Abbas]. Israel can’t stand a continuation of the spilling of blood in the cities and the Qassam attacks."
Aftermath After the attack, Israel closed off the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz approved the resumption of targeted killings of Islamic Jihad operatives, which had been suspended for several months in the West Bank. He also ordered the IDF to regain control of areas in the West Bank controlled by PIJ.
The IDF also planned a large operation in Gaza in retaliation, the first such operation following the Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip in September.
See also 2001 HaSharon Mall suicide bombing HaSharon Mall suicide bombing (July 12, 2005)
References
External links Suicide bombing at Sharon Mall in Netanya - published at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Five die in Israel suicide blast - published in BBC News on December 5, 2005 At least five killed in Israel suicide bomb attack - published on The Times on December 5, 2005 Palestinian Bomber Kills Himself and 5 Others Near Israel Mall - published on The New York Times on December 6, 2005 Five Israelis killed in mall suicide bombing - published on The Daily Telegraph on December 6, 2005