SUICIDE BOMBERS STRIKE DIMONA

Suicide bombers strike Dimona (JTA)
The first Palestinian suicide bombing in more than a year killed at least three Israelis in Dimona.  Two Palestinians wearing bomb belts walked through a shopping area early Monday in the Negev town, police said.

The first blew himself up, killing at least three Israelis and wounding five. The second was felled by the blast, and medical personnel who stripped him to administer aid spotted the belt. A policeman then shot the terrorist dead.

Al-Aksa Brigades, an armed wing of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Israeli officials said the terrorists may have originated in the Gaza Strip and crossed the breached border into the Egyptian Sinai, from where it is easy to enter the Jewish state.

Dimona is a small town with a high profile because Israel's main nuclear reactor is located on its outskirts. The Egyptian border is 40 miles away.

Palestinian Suicide Bomber Kills Israeli in Dimona - Yehuda Peretz
A Palestinian carried out the first suicide bombing in Israel in a year on Monday, killing a woman and wounding 11 others in Dimona's shopping center. Police said they prevented a second blast by shooting dead an accomplice before he could detonate an explosives belt. Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed the attack along with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Young Fatah supporters in Gaza handed out flowers and candy to passing cars to celebrate. (Reuters/Washington Post)

See also Palestinian Suicide Bombers Came from Gaza - Ali Waked
The two bombers who carried out the attack in Dimona on Monday came from Gaza, Palestinian sources said. One of the bombers was Mussa Arafat, from Khan Yunis, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. (Ynet News)

See also Hamas Calls Suicide Bombing in Israel "Heroic Act"
Hamas said a suicide bombing in southern Israel on Monday that killed one woman civilian was a "heroic act." Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in Gaza City, "We bless this operation and call on armed groups to continue on the same path." (AFP/Dow Jones)