An Arab suicide bomber, detonated a large explosive at a Tel Aviv fast food stand in the Neveh Sha'anan neighborhood Monday afternoon, killing at least eight civilians.

At least 50 persons were wounded, with 15 sustaining moderate to severe injuries. The wounded have been evacuated to local hospitals, among them, Ichilov, Beilinson, Wolfson, and Tel Hashomer.

Of those seriously injured, at least five are reported to be in critical condition.

An eye-witness at the scene, Rafi Hayun, told Israel Radio that the terrorist was a female. He estimated that five persons, aside from the terrorist, were killed in the attack. That figure has since been confirmed by official sources. The identity of the terrorist has not been confirmed.

Police are investigating how the terrorist reached the Tel Aviv destination and whether any assistance was received by other terrorists still in the vicinity.

The Islamic Jihad terror group and the Al Aksa Brigades, the military wing of the Fatah party, have claimed responsibility for the attack. Fatah is the party of PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) leader Mahmoud Abbas, and his predecessor, PLO terrorist chieftain Yassir Arafat.

In 1993, Israel signed the Oslo Accords and ceded control of heavily populated Arab areas to the Palestinian Authority. When the accords were signed, the PLO and its largest component, Fatah, pledged in writing to refrain from carrying out terrorist attacks or from using violence of any kind against Israel.

The Al Aksa Brigades and the Islamic Jihad have been cooperating extensively to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel, especially since Hamas won a pivotal parliamentary election in the Palestinian Authority last January.

The fast food felafel stand, "Rosh Ha-Ir," in the vicinity of Tel Aviv's former central bus station, was the site of a terrorist attack three months ago. Thrity-two people were injured in that attack which was also carried out by the Islamic Jihad.

Following Monday's latest attack, Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi, put the nation on maximum alert, out of concern that the inauguration of the 17th Knesset, scheduled for 4:00 this afternoon will serve as a pretext for more attacks.

As of Monday afternoon, Israel's security apparatus was faced with the threat of 19 specific terrorist attacks, warning of an impending attack at a specific time and place. Eighty more general threats of attack have been reported to Israel's intelligence agencies.

Karadi noted that the police had no specific warning of the impending terrorist attack in Tel Aviv.

According to latest reports, a blue Mitsubishi, suspected of being the vehicle that transported the suicide bomber to his target in Tel Aviv, has been stopped by the IDF at the Ofir roadblock on Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway 443, near Ramallah in the Binyamin area. A number of persons in the car have been arrested and are being questioned by security agencies.
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