JERUSALEM – July 13, 2005 – Yesterday the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the suicide attack in the northern Israeli city of Netanya, which killed three people and injured dozens. The attack took place at about 19:15 pm, when a bomber detonated his explosive device outside a shopping mall.

At a time of heightened expectations, this latest bombing comes as a real blow to the Palestinian quest for freedom and statehood. Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was quick to condemn the incident, in that it is counterproductive to the interests of the Palestinian people. As in the past, Israel will only use these attacks as a pretext to continue its aggression against the Palestinian people.

MIFTAH strongly condemns this latest attack and calls on all Palestinian factions to, first, comply with the truce that was reached as a result of the national dialogue and President Abbas’ declaration in Sharm el Sheikh; second, not to act unilaterally and without a mandate from the Palestinian people; third, to respect the results of the democratic process; and fourth, to respect President Abbas’ plan to end all acts of violence in return for the resumption of peace negotiations.

MIFTAH unequivocally condemns the targeting of innocent civilians and bystanders regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religious affiliation or any other consideration. Such violence only undermines the integrity of the Palestinian cause and distorts its basic values of human liberty, dignity, and self-determination.

The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy, MIFTAH, is a non-governmental, non-partisan Jerusalem-based institution dedicated to fostering democracy and good governance within Palestinian society through promoting public accountability, transparency, the free flow of information and ideas and the challenging of stereotyping at home and abroad.