Three Killed in Northern Israel Mall Bombing

According to police spokesman Gil Kleiman, the security guard was checking the bomber with a handheld metal detector, which began beeping, prompting the terrorist to set off his charge.

Media reports have said that the security guard was a woman who was killed in the blast.

All malls, restaurants, swimming pools, office buildings and public places have security guards posted at entrances who check parcels, purses and people for weapons or explosive devices.

Police Commissioner Shlomo Aharonishky said that a greater tragedy had been prevented by the action of the guard.

Several guards have been killed or wounded recently preventing terrorists from entering public sites and paying with their lives for the protection of others.

Islamic Jihad and the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigade, linked to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, both claimed responsibility for the Afula attack. Hamas claimed responsibility for the four earlier attacks in which nine Israelis were killed. Both groups have vowed to keep up attacks until Israel is destroyed.

PA Labor Minister Ghassan Khatib condemned the attack, saying that the PA rejected the suicide bombings because "they harm us politically and morally and don't represent the Palestinian position."

David Baker, an official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office, said that the Palestinian terrorists had embarked on a campaign of "terror and carnage," which began on Saturday evening with the murder of an Israeli man and his pregnant wife.

"We've had three days of successive attacks," said Baker. "Obviously, the Palestinian terrorists have chosen death and destruction over making tangible progress through dialogue with Israel," he added.

The first suicide bombing occurred in Hebron just hours before Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was due to meet with new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the security situation and the U.S.-sponsored "road map."

Sharon postponed a trip to Washington to discuss Israel's reservations about the road map following the second suicide bombing - an attack on a Jerusalem bus early Sunday morning that left seven dead. Another Jerusalem explosion that killed only the bomber occurred a half hour later.

Despite the latest rash of bombings, President Bush said he was confident that the peace process would continue.

"I've got confidence we can move the peace process forward," Bush said in a press conference. "The road map still stands... We're still on the road to peace. It's just going to be a bumpy road, and I'm not going to get off the road until we achieve the vision."

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