Qureia condemns Qalandiyah bombing

[Gimel]

Taking a rare swipe at militants, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia yesterday condemned Wednesday's bombing at the Qalandiyah checkpoint in which there were both Israeli and Palestinian casualties.

Calling the attack harmful to his people's interests, Qureia echoed criticism voiced by ordinary Palestinians over the attack north of Jerusalem that claimed the lives of two Palestinian bystanders and wounded 19 people, including six Israeli Border Policemen.

"Such operations at this time and under these circumstances are not good for the Palestinian people, Qureia said. "On the contrary, they will negatively affect the Palestinians."

Militants from Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement claimed the bombing, the first in the Jerusalem area in six months. They said they had targeted Israeli security men to avenge their comrades' deaths, and apologized for the Palestinian casualties.

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