Hanadi Jarahat
The traineee lawyer who allegedly carried out the Haifa suicide bombing
Haifa suicide bomb
Palestinians on guard for attack on Yasser Arafat
The United Nations Security Council says it has decided to hold an immediate public meeting in response to a request from Syria regarding an Israeli air strike against a camp in Syria.
The UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, said he 'strongly deplores' Israel's strike on Syria.
Israel said it attacked what it claimed was an Islamic Jihad training camp. Islamic Jihad had claimed responsibility for yesterday's suicide bombing in Haifa in which 20 people, including the bomber, were killed.
Syria has said Israel's overnight airstrike near Damascus was a 'grave escalation' of tensions in the Middle East.
Syria confirmed that there was material damage but that there were no casualties when Israeli jets carried out an air raid some 15 kilometres northwest of Damascus.
The Arab League warned tonight that Israel's action could spark 'a whirlwind of violence' and called on the UN Security Council to rein in the Jewish state immediately.
Yasser Arafat has meanwhile proclaimed a state of emergency in the Palestinian territories, in a special decree he issued naming Ahmed Qorei as his new prime minister.
Last night, Israeli forces blew up the homes of militants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including that of 29-year-old suicide bomber Hanadi Tayssir Jaradat, whose brother and cousin had been killed in an Israeli attack in June.
Troops also cut the main north-south highway through the Gaza Strip with roadblocks, while in Israel itself police were on high alert for further attacks over Yom Kippur, beginning at sunset today.
Bombing condemned by world leadersWorld leaders have condemned the bombing, which killed 20 people including four children, with US President George W Bush blaming Palestinian terrorism for the lack of progress toward a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East.
Egypt and Germany have condemned the airstrikes, while Britain has urged all sides to exercise restraint.
The Palestinians' Chief Negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said the only way to halt the attacks is to get the peace process back on track. He is asking the US to intervene and help prevent another series of tit-for-tat retaliation.
A spokesman for the Israeli government said that while Israel will not immediately expel Yasser Arafat from his West Bank headquarters, the 'clock is ticking' towards the Palestinian leader's removal.
Palestinians are forming a human shield around their leader Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah amid fears of further Israeli retaliation.
It was the first such attack since twin bombings killed 15 people on 9 September. The dead included five members of one family - a grandmother, her son, daughter-in-law and their two children, aged four and 14 months.
