Israelis Worry About Foreign Bombers
The role of two Britons in a suicide bombing this week has Israel worried that foreigners could become more involved in terrorist attacks — and catapult the 2 1/2-year conflict with the Palestinians to a new level. Wednesday’s blast at the Tel Aviv bar, “Mike’s Place,” was the first suicide attack carried out by a foreigner during 31 months of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Police identified the attacker early Wednesday as Asif Hanif, 21, from a London suburb, and disclosed that another bomber, Omar Khan Sharif, 27, also British, had escaped after his explosive charge malfunctioned. Hanif blew himself up outside the bar, killing a waitress and two musicians. “The nightmare scenario has come true,” military analyst Alex Fishman wrote in the Yediot Ahronot daily. “These terrorists did exactly what happened in the United States on Sept. 11.” Analysts agreed that foreign involvement in the already bloody Palestinian-Israeli conflict was a grave development, but there was little surprise. Full Story