Blast blows side and roof off bus
A Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a bus in Jerusalem today, killing 10 people and wounding at least 50 in the deadliest attack in four months.
The explosion went off outside the official residence of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who was not home at the time.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
The bombing coincided with a German-brokered prisoner swap between Israel and the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, but the exchange went ahead as planned. The bombing dealt a further setback to stalled peace efforts.
The bomber detonated the explosives just before 9am (7am Irish Time) in the Rehavia district of Jerusalem, just 15 yards from Sharon’s official residence.
Bus passenger Svetlana Minchiker, in her 30s, said she was talking on her mobile phone when she felt the blast. “I thought my telephone had exploded,” she said, holding up her blood-stained hands. “As my feelings slowly returned to me, I managed to … crawl through the window.”
The green Egged bus was charred, with wires dangling everywhere. One side of the bus had been blown out and the back half of the roof was blown off.
Police said the explosion went off in the middle or back of the crowded bus and was so powerful that body parts flew into nearby houses.
Police investigators with sniffer dogs searched the bus. Paramedics were taking away the wounded on stretchers. Others were treated at the scene. People, dazed and crying, wandered around the area.
The last attack in Israel was a suicide bombing at a bus stop outside of Tel Aviv on December 25 that killed four people. Israeli officials said the weeks of calm preceding the bombing were a result of Israeli security measures, not a reduction in violence on the Palestinian side.
After the blast, Sharon and his foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, announced that they had cancelled a planned meeting that was to include the Americans, Palestinians and international donors to help fund the Palestinian Authority budget. The meeting was meant to help restart peace talks.
Palestinian Authority officials condemned the bombing, while also denouncing the deaths of nine Palestinians on Wednesday during fighting with Israeli troops in Gaza. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia appealed “to all parties to stop this bloody series of violence”, declare a cease-fire and resume the road map.
