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Palestinian Suicide Attack in Israel, 2 Israeli Security Agents Wounded VOA News 30 Jan 2002 10:10 UTC 
A Palestinian suicide bomber set off an explosive charge today (Wednesday) near a vehicle in an Israeli Arab town north of Tel Aviv, killing himself and wounding at two Israeli security agents. The attack took place early this morning under a bridge in the town of Taibeh, close to the West Bank. Israeli media reports say the Palestinian man was an informant for Israel's internal security service Shin Bet. A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office, which is responsible for Shin Bet, said the injured agents were on "an operational mission" at the time of the attack, and that further details of the incident are under investigation. The attack comes a day after Israeli security officials presented Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a plan to protect Israelis in Jerusalem from further attacks by Palestinian militants. Government officials discussed the plan Tuesday. It was submitted after this week's bomb attack by a Palestinian woman and a shooting attack by a Palestinian man on the same Jerusalem street last week. Palestinian officials have warned that putting up any physical barriers to divide Arab East Jerusalem and the Jewish western part of the city would further escalate tensions. Israel's Public Security Minister Uzi Landau denied that a wall would be built, but he did not elaborate. Israeli media reports say the security plan includes installation of sophisticated detection equipment including thermal sensors and video cameras, roadblocks, special traffic routes and hundreds more police. Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, and later built extensively on annexed land to solidify its claim to the area. Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
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