At least seven Israelis were killed and 20 were wounded, some of them seriously, when a suicide bomber blew himself up on a bus in Jerusalem early Sunday morning. The attack, on line 6, took place shortly before 6 A.M. (0300GMT), near French Hill.
Witnesses said the bomb went off on a large bus divided into two sections as it neared a bridge in one of Jerusalem's largest intersections, outside the Arab neighborhood of Shuafat and the Jewish neighborhood of French Hill, in the part of Jerusalem Israel captured in the 1967 war and claimed by the Palestinians.
Jerusalem Police Chief Mickey Levy said that the bomber boarded the bus at its first stop. "The explosive was large," Levy said. "And the bus was shattered."
Israeli police suspect that the suicide bomber was a 19-year-old from Hebron.
The assessment is based on Palestinian reports that the family of Bassem Jamal Takrouri, an engineering student from Hebron technological college, opened a mourning tent in front of their home in Hebron Sunday.
A second suicide bomber blew himself up half an hour after the bus bombing, at the entry to the nearby Dahit al-Barid neighborhood in Jerusalem.
Levy said that the second bombing took place at a roadblock that was set up following the bus bombing,. No injuries were reported in the incident.
On his part, Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Amer condemned the suicide attack in Jerusalem.
Amer said that the Palestinian Authority's policy is to condemn all "terror" attacks against Israeli civilians. Amer also called on the Israeli government to restrain its response to the attack and added that the PA was committed to taking steps to end the terror attacks.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinians who infiltrated Sha'arei Tikva settlement late Saturday night. The two Palestinians were killed following a forty minute exchange of fire with Israeli troops.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers clashed with Palestinians Sunday killing an 18-year-old teenager, Palestinian security sources said.
The clash was reported shortly after a Kassam rocket was launched on the Israeli town of Sderot. There were no reported injuries in that attack, as the rocket landed in an open field.
Palestinian reports identified the youth killed Sunday in the town of Khan Yunis as Ali Abu Namouss.
On the diplomatic front, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to put off a crucial trip to Washington. According to Israeli public radio, Sharon decided not to leave the country Sunday in order "to personally supervise the fight against terrorism."
The blasts came hours after Sharon had his first talks with Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas on implementing an international peace plan known as the roadmap, which ended inconclusively. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
