AT LEAST 10 KILLED IN JERUSALEM TERROR BOMBING
A suicide bomber exploded inside a bus on the corners of Gaza and Balfour streets, near the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem's Rehavia neighborhood at about 8:45 Thursday morning.
Initial reports say 10 people have been killed and possibly 50 wounded, at least 10 critically.
All the wounded have been evacuated to hospitals.
[See bottom of story for Hospital telephone numbers].
Police and Magen David Adom arrived minutes after the attack, and the area was cordoned off.
Jerusalem Police chief Mickey Levy said there were a large number of fatalities. "The bomb was very big, the entire back end of the bus was ripped apart," he said. He said Police had no specific warning for the attack.
Levy said police still had no leads but expected that time would provide information which would enable them to follow whatever lines became evident. He said they already had an idea of where the suicide bomber mounted the bus.
"Jerusalem Police have recently managed to stop several attacks including 3 explosive belts. All of these are still being investigated. Today," he said, "we had no specific warning of this attack and we couldn't stop it."
"The explosive was a large one," Levy continued, and "we will investigate with Eged why there was no security person on the bus."
Half the roof of the bus was lifted as much as forty feet (around 12 meters) in the air and was visible hundreds of meters away back part of the bus. On the bus itself every window had been blown out. There were three entire human corpses inside the bus and two others lying outside
There was a moped that was hit by the explosion, but it was not clear whether the moped driver was amongst those murdered or injured.
Police and security service said they receive between 50 and 60 general terror attack warnings per day.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Arab media reports a female suicide bomber carried out the attack.
According to police reports, a suicide bomber managed to enter the bus, then explode at the back of the bus, ripping off its roof. The bus driver said he did not notice any suspicious-looking person enter the bus, Isarel Radio reported.
The explosion occurred moments after the bus pulled away from its last station. The bus starts its route in Hadassah.
Following the explosion, disoriented people were seen milling around, some were seen on the scene walking around with pieces of human flesh on them. A great deal of blood was seen on the ground, and broken glass littered the streets.
There was a ghostly silence immediately after the attack; the silence one feels in Jerusalem on Shabbat.
Many of the people had managed to get off and make their way to the corner of Arlozorov and Gaza Streets. Some were sitting there in silence. Some of them had pieces of flesh on their jackets.
One person seems to have had his ear torn in half.
Another women was bleeding profusely, her face covered in blood.
Police Commissioner Shlomo Aharonishky said the terrorist exploded in the rear end of the bus. "This takes us back to the difficult days of the past. There is no change in strategy on the other side. They are always trying to carry out attacks. The thin line of defense comprises the work of the security services, the IDF, Police and Shin Bet. Even despite this we cannot thwart every attack," Aharonishky said.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz will convene the security establishment IDF Shinbet police and other agencies to discuss implications of the bombing, but there is little chance of them halting the prisoner exchange taking place in Germany.
Knesset Security and Foreign Affairs committee chairman Yuval Steinitz said the attack is aimed at embarrassing Israel and making the release of 400 terrorists even more painful than it already is. Israel's reaction, he said, should be to immediately banish Yasser Arafat to Tunisia for his responsibility for suicide attacks.
MK Ehud Yatom said the attack is a response by "Hassan Nasrallah, Arafat, Yassin and the Iranian rulers to Israel's weakness as evident in the prisoner swap."
Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz said he had just discussed with Ariel Sharon the need to banish Arafat, in accordance with a cabinet decision from 4 months ago.
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski said "a day that should have been a happy one started with many dead and injured. We are one family made of hard stuff, but this kind of attack has implications on Jerusalem after several months of quiet."
"Terrorists will always find excuses to kill us," he continued. "There is no doubt that intentions exist. I'm glad the fence is going up. I only wish it was happening faster because we all know it protects us all."
The Palestinian Administration condemned the attack. Chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat said they condemn any attack upon innocent civilians –Israeli or Palestinian.
Emergency phone numbers for hospitals are:
Hadasa Ein Karem – 1255122
Hadasa Mt. Scopus – 1255123
Sha'arei Zedek – 1255125
New immigrants can call 1255081010
Jerusalem Municipality hotline – 1255023106
Special number for hearing impaired – 02-6430255
This is the second explosion near the Prime Minister's residence, the first occurring on March 5th, 2002 at the Moment Cafe. The Prime Minister was not at his Jerusalem residence at the time of the attack.
Diplomatic officials said the prisoner swap with the Hizbullah despite the attack.
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