Related: Abbas condemns Netanya blast as terror act

    

Israeli police officers inspect the site of a suicide bomb attack in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya Monday Dec. 5, 2005. (Xinhua/AFP)

JERUSALEM, Dec. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- At least five people were killed and 35 wounded on Monday in a suicide bombing attack in a shopping mall in Netanya, north of Tel Aviv, Israel Radio said.

    The blast, which occurred at around 11:30 a.m. (0930 GMT), left five people dead, rescue workers said, adding that among the wounded, four were in critical condition and the rest had moderate to light wounds.

    The wounded have been taken to nearby hospitals in Netanya and Hadera, they said.

    Ami Klein, a lawyer who witnessed the explosion from a nearby courthouse, told the radio that the attacker reached the entrance to the mall but wasn't able to enter. "The boom shook the entire courthouse," he said.

    Islamic Jihad said it had carried out the attack, and the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an armed wing of the ruling Fatah movement led by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, also claimed responsibility.

    Israeli Deputy Public Security Minister Yaakov Edri told the radio that there had been no specific warnings ahead of the attack.

    David Baker, an official in the Prime Minister's Office, held the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) responsible for the attack.

    "The Palestinian National Authority refuses to take necessary steps to prevent terror, including dismantling terror infrastructure and incarceration of terrorists and we saw the result today in Netanya," Baker told the local daily Ha'aretz.

    "There can be no substitute for these steps. The PNA adamantly refuses to implement such steps," he added.

    

An Israeli police officer inspects the site of a suicide bomb attack in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya Monday Dec. 5, 2005. (Xinhua/AFP)

Abbas condemned the attack as terror acts in a statement issued by his office.

    Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat also slammed the attack, saying it was detrimental to the Palestinian cause.

    "I believe that this harms Palestinian interests and is another act to sabotage efforts to revive the peace process and to sabotage the Palestinian elections," Erekat said, referring to a parliamentary vote set on Jan. 25, 2006.

    The coastal city of Netanya has been a frequent target of suicide bombings in the past five years of violence.

    In July 2005 five people were killed when an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber blew himself up near a shopping mall. Enditem