A suicide bomber blew himself up on a crowded Jerusalem bus yesterday morning, killing seven people and wounding more than 60, 11 of them seriously, police and rescue workers said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came just a day before the world court is to begin hearings on the West Bank separation barrier Israel says is crucial for keeping out bombers.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The huge blast went off around 8:30am, during morning rush hour, as the bus drove past a gas station in downtown Jerusalem. The explosion ripped apart the back of the green bus and scattered body parts and shattered glass across a two-block radius. The windows were blown out, the windscreen cracked and the roof was raised.
"It was like an earthquake," Ora Yairov, who was at the gas station during the explosion, told Channel One television. "The station was filled with shattered glass and pieces of flesh."
An hour after the blast, bodies still lay on the sidewalk. Rescue workers wrapped them in white sheets and put body parts in body bags. Security forces stood on the roof of the nearby gas station watching the crowd.
Police spokesman Gil Kleiman said the blast killed seven people in addition to the bomber. Rescue officials said at least 60 people were injured.
The explosion came from a medium-sized bomb laced with pieces of iron that exploded in the center of the bus, police said.
Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have killed hundreds of Israelis in such bombings in more than three years of fighting.
Hamas had called all its bombers to avenge a Feb. 11 Israeli raid into the Gaza Strip that left 15 Palestinians dead. In a statement posted on a Hamas Web site, the group demanded Israelis leave all of Israel, "if not, they will face the same destiny of those Zionists who were attacked in the martyrdom operation in Jerusalem today."
Yesterday's bombing was the first since a suicide bomber blew himself up on a bus near Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's house on Jan. 29, killing 10 passengers. The latest bombing was only a few blocks away from that blast.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia condemned the attack in a statement and called for "an immediate halt to these actions," which gives Israel an excuse for continuing building the barrier and carrying out raids against militants.
Israeli officials said the blast proved the need for the West Bank barrier, which is being challenged at the International Court of Justice at the Hague.
"We are showing everyone that a security fence is not just Israel's obligation, but also its right," Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled said. "We are letting the victims of terror speak for us at the Hague."
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
‘DISCRIMINATION’: The US Office of Personnel Management ordered that public DEI-focused Web pages be taken down, while training and contracts were canceled US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. The moves follow an executive order Trump signed on his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs. Trump has called the programs “discrimination” and called to restore “merit-based” hiring. The executive order on affirmative action revokes an order issued by former US president Lyndon Johnson, and curtails DEI programs by federal contractors and grant recipients. It is using one of the
RSS