October 16, 2003	Thursday	Sha'aban 19, 1424

WASHINGTON, Oct 15: The United States on Wednesday urged all US citizens to leave the Gaza Strip and asked the Israeli government to assist in evacuating any Americans there after a deadly bomb attack on a US diplomatic convoy, the State Department said.

In addition, the department, through the US embassy in Tel Aviv, advised Americans in the West Bank “to take all available precautions against possible further attacks.”

In a notice issued to US citizens in Israel and the Palestinian territories, the embassy said “an official American vehicle was hit, apparently by a roadside charge” in the northern Gaza Strip a little after 10:30 am.

“The United States government therefore recommends that all US citizens depart the area as expeditiously as possible, while avoiding the area of the attack,” it said.

“We are asking the Israeli government to facilitate the evacuation of any American citizen wishing to leave the Gaza Strip,” said the notice.

Israeli medical and diplomatic sources said at least three people were killed in the blast, which hit the convoy as it was travelling in the Beit Hanun area near the Erez border crossing that leads into southern Israel.

A US diplomatic source said all the victims were US citizens.

Israeli forces stormed the area a short time after the attack and later a team of US investigators arrived on the scene, according to Palestinian security sources and witnesses.

Witnesses said a cable had been discovered in an abandoned house by police who were working on the theory that the bomb may have been remote-controlled.

The explosion came just hours after the United States vetoed a resolution at the UN Security Council which would have condemned Israel’s construction of a controversial security barrier across the West Bank.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the blast which was condemned by Palestinian officials, including prime minister Ahmed Qorei.

The blast was the first attack of its kind in the Palestinian territories against a US target but the State Department has stern travel warnings in place advising US citizens against visiting both Israel and the Palestinian territories due to ongoing violence and terrorism there.

“The potential for further terrorist acts remains high,” says the last such warning, issued on April 17. “The situation in Israel, Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank remains extremely volatile with continuing terrorist attacks, confrontations and clashes.”

Earlier this year, the US embassy in Tel Aviv issued a specific alert for the Gaza Strip.

The May 29 alert warned of possible plots to abduct US citizens in Gaza and urged them to exercise particular caution should they choose to travel there. —AFP