A previously unknown group calling itself the "Vanguards of the Popular Army" claimed Tuesday its responsibility for the Netanya attack that took place a day earlier, saying its military brigades, Al-Awda, carried out the operation in revenge for the assassination of Palestinian leaders, according to the Jerusalem Post newspaper.
A booby-trapped car exploded in the area, north of Tel Aviv, leaving more than 35 people injured.
“The group... put a car bomb in Netanya on the occupied Palestinian coast whose explosion led to the killing or wounding of 40 Zionists,” the group said a statement quoted by the paper.
“The operation was in response to the criminal actions which the forces of the Zionist occupation carry out against the elite of Fateh, Hamas, and the Islamic Jihad; the latest was the [Sunday] killing of [Fateh leader Thabet] Thabet.”
Following the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak convened a security meeting to discuss ways of retaliating for the attack.
Among the measure taken, said AFP, was closing the Gaza Airport and preventing Palestinian officials carrying VIP cards from travelling to and from the West Bank and Gaza.
The Israeli army, following the attack, imposed a complete closure on West Bank cities.
In the meantime, the paper said that the seriously injured man in the attack is currently a suspect.
Acting central district police chief Danny Ronen said that the man’s medical condition makes it impossible to interrogate him.
Ronen added that he "hopes police will be able to do so soon."
He said police are not even sure of his nationality, according to the paper.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the man raised suspicion because of his proximity to the car, his attempt to flee the scene, and his lack of identity documents. He is under police guard at the hospital.
A doctor at the Hadasa hospital said that "the man is in critical condition, and his chances of surviving are not very good. He was unconscious at the time of his arrival and has not come to. He is on a respirator and suffering from head injuries and third-degree burns to most of the body, including his face."
Due to the burns, no one has yet been able to identify him, he told the paper -- Albawaba.com
