Nablus blast leaves thousands without water, electricity
Dozens of homes and shops in Nablus were damaged Saturday morning when concrete barriers placed by Palestinians to block entrance to the Old City explode, Palestinians say
The blast left thousands without running water and electricity in the West Bank town, though repair teams were out by mid-morning.
Palestinians complained at the coordination headquarters accusing the IDF of exploding the barricades.
Responding to the Palestinian claims, IDF officials told Ynet that "when the Palestinians placed such barricades in the past, they loaded them with explosives against Israeli forces." The army said it was examining whether that was done in this case as well.
In any case, an army spokeswoman said that the IDF would have had legitimate reasons to explode the cement barricades, since they deliberately prevented soldiers from foiling terrorists plots originated in the city.
"The Palestinians put up huge concrete blocks so Israeli soldiers would not have access to operate in Nablus, which is a hotbed of terrorist activity," she said, explaining that Israeli troops had found three explosives laboratories in Nablus since the beginning of the year along with numerous explosive belts being prepared for suicide bombers.
Said Handiyeh, a Nablus city council member, estimated the damage from the Saturday explosions at $100,000. He said a 60-year old woman was slightly hurt by shattering glass.
Three Palestinian Cabinet ministers came to the city to review the damage. "Israel has been ruling the Palestinian people for 40 years, and what is happening to Nablus is out-and-out war," said Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti.
In recent weeks the IDF carried out a number of arrest raids and preventative attacks in Nablus. Israeli army officials have warned recently that terror cells in Nablus are continuing attempts to carry out attacks against Israel.
News agencies contributed to the report
