DATE=3/30/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ISRAEL / EXPLOSION (S)

NUMBER=2-288168

BYLINE=LAURIE KASSMAN

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: In Israel, violence continues with an explosion outside a Tel Aviv cafe. At least one person was killed and dozens more injured (update numbers as warranted). Police suspect a Palestinian suicide bombing. Correspondent Laurie Kassman has the latest details from Jerusalem.

TEXT: Rescue teams have rushed to the scene of the explosion in the heart of Tel Aviv's entertainment district. The explosion ripped through a popular cafe just at a time when Israelis were celebrating the end of the Sabbath.

The blast comes just one day after a teenage suicide bomber killed two people and herself at a Jerusalem supermarket. Last Wednesday, another Palestinian suicide bomber killed 22 people in a coastal resort just north of Tel Aviv as they were celebrating the start of the Passover holiday.

In response to the spate of killings, Israeli forces have put Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat under siege, and tanks have entered several other Palestinian cities to disrupt and destroy terrorist infrastructures in the Palestinian territories. Israel says it has no intention of harming Mr. Arafat personally, but a top Palestinian official says Israel's army has warned Mr. Arafat it will storm his office. (Signed)

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