Something's Not Right in Tel Aviv

The Truth Will Set You Free
Apr. 18, 2006

A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up outside a fast-food restaurant in a bustling commercial area of Tel Aviv during the Passover holiday Monday, killing eight other people and wounding at least 49, police said. Israeli Prime Minister-designate Ehud Olmert said Israel would respond "as necessary."

It's tragic that more people continue to lose their lives in this conflict. The dreadful details are heart wrenching. However, I want to draw your attention to something I found odd about the incident.

The bomber struck at about 1:40 p.m. at "The Mayor's Felafel" restaurant, which was targeted in a Jan. 19 attack that wounded 20 people. The restaurant is in the bustling Neve Shaanan neighborhood near Tel Aviv's central bus station, which was crowded with holiday travelers.

Police said the restaurant hired a security guard after the earlier bombing, and that guard apparently was injured in Monday's blast.

A witness, Moussa al Zidat, said the guard asked the apparent bomber to open his bag.

"I saw a young man starting to open his bag. The guard begins opening the bag, and then I heard a boom."

Witness Israel Yaakov said the blast killed a woman standing near her husband and children.

"The father was traumatized. He went into shock. He ran to the children to gather them up and the children were screaming, 'Mom! Mom!' and she wasn't answering, she was dead already ... it's a shocking scene," Yaakov said.

Am I missing something? Was the same guard who opened the bag the one who was "injured" in the blast? If so, how could he escape death, when a woman, presumably standing at least as far away from the alleged bomber and the bag as the guard was, was killed instantaneously?