NO FILIPINO HURT IN SUICIDE BOMBING IN SOUTHERN ISRAEL 

30 January 2007 — Chargé d’Affaires, a. i. (CDA) Gilberto G. B. Asuque of the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that no Filipino has been reported hurt in a suicide bombing that occurred in the southern tourist resort of Eilat at around 9:30 a.m. (local time) on 29 January 2007. 

Upon learning of the incident, the Embassy and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) immediately contacted Ms. Evelinda Coste, Filipino coordinator in Eilat, and OFW Ramil Dagohoy, who both reported that as of the afternoon of 29 January no Filipino was reported to be among those killed or injured.  There are now less than a hundred Filipinos – most of them caregivers – in Eilat, a five-hour drive south of Tel Aviv. 

CDA Asuque said that the Embassy and POLO have also conferred with the Yoseftal Hospital in Eilat, which had no information of any foreign national among the victims. 

He reported that the Embassy has reactivated its text messaging system with the Filipinos in Eilat to ensure regular contacts with the Embassy and POLO.   

In his report, CDA Asuque said that the Israeli media stated that two Palestinian groups, the Islamic Jihad and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – the military wing of the Fatah faction of the Palestinian Authority – have claimed joint responsibility for the attack.  However, Fatah spokesman Ahmad Abdul Rahman condemned the violence, saying, “We are against any operation that targets civilians, Israelis or Palestinians.” 

The media quoted Eilat District police commander Bruno Stein as saying, “This is an extremely serious incident, which requires us to think fast.  We have boosted our forces’ presence in the city and are working on finding out who stands behind the bombing.” 

The bombing is the first to strike the southernmost resort city and the first to hit Israel since April 2006, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in Tel Aviv’s old bus station, killing eight people.  Since the second Intifada in 2002, the Embassy has recorded a total of four Filipino fatalities and about seven Filipinos injured in suicide bombings in various places in Israel. 

CDA Asuque assured the Department that the Embassy and POLO will continue to monitor the situation in Eilat and provide further information on the incident as they become available.  END

/jay

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