TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded cafe in Tel Aviv's bustling entertainment district Saturday evening, wounding at least 32 people in the third such attack in four days. <br>
<br>
The assailant walked into My Coffee Shop, a cafe on Allenby Street, a major thoroughfare, at about 9:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. EDT) and detonated explosives strapped to his body. <br>
<br>
The explosion blew out the roof and windows and overturned chairs and tables. Dance music was still playing inside the cafe after the attack.<br>
<br>
Isif Avner, 43, said he and his wife were having coffee in the cafe. Avner said he had stepped outside for a moment when the bomb went off. <br>
<br>
``I called out to my wife and a friend and they did not answer, but after a minute they came from inside,'' Avner said, adding that his wife and friend were unhurt. <br>
<br>
Avner, a resident of Jerusalem, said he had left that often-targeted city for Tel Aviv to be able to enjoy an evening out. <br>
<br>
Police said the bomber was killed and 32 people were injured, including four who were in serious condition and one who was in critical condition with a head wound and burns. <br>
<br>
The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement that identified the bomber as 22-year-old Mohannad Salahat from the village near the West Bank town of Jenin. The Al Aqsa militia is linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. <br>
<br>
Police Commissioner Shlomo Aharonishki said he did not expect a letup in Palestinian attacks. ``We are expecting many more bomb attacks. and we are spreading our forces as widely as possible,'' Aharonishki said on Israel TV. <br>
<br>
In the aftermath of Saturday's blast bomb experts wearing body armor dumped trash cans and broke car windows in search of more bombs. <br>
<br>
Curious, stunned and angry crowds gathered. A shocked Gal Peleg, 29, put her hand over her mouth. Then she said, ``How can we live in this country? I don't know.'' <br>
<br>
The bombing was a block from the city's trendy Sheinkin Street, lined with clothing and music stores and cafes. <br>
<br>
Saturday's bombing was the third Palestinian suicide attack of the week. <br>
<br>
On Wednesday evening, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a hotel in the coastal resort of Netanya, killing 22 diners attending a Passover Seder, the ritual meal ushering in the Jewish holiday. On Friday, a woman bomber blew herself up at the entrance of a Jerusalem supermarket, killing a guard and a woman shopper. <br>
<br>
The Netanya attack was carried out by the Islamic militant group Hamas, and the Jerusalem bombing was claimed by the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade. <br>
<br>
Gideon Ezra, the deputy police commissioner, said the bombing would make Israel only more determined to press on with its major military offensive, launched Friday to crush Palestinian militias. In a first stage, Israeli forces seized the West Bank town of Ramallah, confined Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to his three-floor office building and moved into parts of the town of Beit Jalla. <br>
<br>
``Our battle, our war, has only just started in Ramallah,'' Ezra said, speaking at the scene of the Tel Aviv bombing. ``We need to take additional steps to prevent the entrance of terrorists. This is an unconventional war and in a war like this, the answer is also unconventional.''
