SUICIDE BOMBER MURDERS 3 IN EILAT

Suicide Bomber Kills 3 at Israeli Bakery
EILAT, Israel (AP) - A Palestinian suicide bomber attacked a bakery in this southern Israeli resort town on Monday, killing three other people, police said. It was the first suicide bombing in Israel in nine months and the first ever to hit Eilat, Israel's southernmost city.

A spokesman for Hamas, the radical Islamic group that controls the Palestinian parliament and Cabinet, praised the bombing as a "natural response" to Israeli policies - a position likely to complicate the group's efforts to end a crippling aid boycott imposed by the international community.

Two Palestinian militant groups, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, claimed joint responsibility for the attack.

An Islamic Jihad Web site said the attack was meant to help bring an end to weeks of Palestinian infighting that has 60 people in the Gaza Strip since December. "The operation has a clear message to the Palestinian rivals. It is necessary to end the infighting and point the guns toward the occupation that has hurt the Palestinian people," the site said.

The group identified the bomber as Mohammed Saksak, 21, of Gaza City, after earlier saying he came from the West Bank.

Witnesses said the bomber stood out because he was wearing a long winter coat a warm, sunny day when he struck the small bakery in a residential neighborhood.

"It was very hot, very hot. He had a coat on and it didn't look right to me. I thought to myself, 'What's that idiot dressed like that for?' A couple of seconds later I heard a massive explosion," Benny Mazgini, 45, told Israel Radio.

Shattered glass was visible on the sidewalk outside, alongside bread trays scattered by the blast.

"It was awful - there was smoke, pieces of flesh all over the place," Mazgini said.