At least five dead, 55 injured – 6 critically - in Palestinian suicide bombing attack Monday at entrance to Netanya’s Sharon shopping mall

DEBKAfile Intelligence

December 5, 2005, 11:39 AM (GMT+02:00)

Jihad Islami released videotape of alleged suicide killer. Fatah-al Aqsa Brigades deny earlier claim of responsibility broadcast by Al Arabiya TV.

The bomber was prevented from entering the mall by suspicious security guards and bystanders. When police told him to take his hand out of his pocket, the terrorist blew himself up in the crowd at the mall’s entrance, which has become known as the Cursed Gate.

Netanya, which lies on the Mediterranean between Tel Aviv and Haifa, has been attacked several times by Palestinian bombers in the last five years. A suicide bomber killed five Israelis near the same spot outside the mall in summer.