Hamas backtracked Friday on its claim of responsibility for an attack on a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem that killed eight Israeli students. Ibrahim Daher, head of Hamas' al-Aqsa radio, said his station put out an earlier claim of responsibility prematurely. The attack was earlier claimed by a senior official of Hamas.
"Hamas is responsible for the attack. The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades will officially claim the attack at the right moment," a Gaza official told AFP.
Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing, however, stressed the group was not taking responsibility for the attack - at least yet. "There may be a later announcement. ... But we don't claim this honor yet," he said, according to the AP.
Immediately after the attack, the Lebanese Hizbullah Shiite group said it was carried out to avenge the death of its senior commander, Imad Mughnieh, assassinated in a Damascus bombing on Februaury 12.
Meanwhile in Jerusalem, Israeli police arrested more than 10 relatives and friends of 25-year-old attacker, identified as Alaa Hisham Abu Dheim of the Jabal al-Mukaber area, where a mourning tent was set up.
