Ten dead, 30 wounded as Palestinians open fire on bus Sharon convenes cabinet meeting as violence continues December 12, 2001 Posted: 4:01 PM EST (2101 GMT)
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convened a cabinet meeting Wednesday after Palestinian gunmen ambushed a bus on the West Bank, killing at least 10 people and injuring 30 others.
Israeli authorities said an explosive was set off near the bus which was traveling to the Immanuel settlement from Tel Aviv. Gunmen then opened fire, police said. Three cars following the bus were also fired on during the incident. Ambulance officials said when they arrived, they were fired on. The Jewish settlement of Immanuel is located northwest of Ariel on the West Bank.
In Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said that two suicide bombers had set off blasts near the Gush Katif settlement. The explosions killed the bombers and lightly wounded four Israelis. They said mortar bombs had been fired at a car north of the settlement but no one was hurt. Ra'an Gissin, an Israeli government spokesman, said the latest attacks "leave us no alternative but to take the necessary steps." He said there would be "quick reaction. No attack will go without a response."
The Palestinian Authority issued a statement late Wednesday condemning the attack on the bus and two suicide bombings. "The Palestinian Authority condemns the military operations carried out on a bus near settlement of Immanuel and in Gush Katif this evening," part of the statement read.
Asked about reports that U.S. Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni had negotiated a 48-hour truce between Israelis and Palestinians, Gissin said Israel was not violating the agreement.
Wednesday's violence was the latest in a cycle of attack and retaliation that began when Palestinian suicide bombers killed 25 Israelis in Jerusalem and Haifa the weekend of December 1-2.