bomb near a bus in the West Bank and then opened fire as victims fled, Israeli officials said.
Eye-witnesses said that the deadliest attack in nearly a month happened close to the bus at the entrance to the Jewish settlement of Emmanuel, southwest of Nablus in the West Bank.
Three Palestinian gunmen, wearing Israel army uniforms, were seen waiting in ambush and began shooting passengers as they tried to exit the damaged vehicle. The gunfire continued for several minutes before the assailants fled in the direction of Nablus, several news reports said.
UNDER THE SEATS
"I got down under the seats, as fast as I could, because the terrorists began firing bursts and throwing grenades, it went on and on it seemed like eternity," Rachel Gross, a high school student on board on the bus, told reporters.
Yitzhak Kaufman, an Israeli paramedic who helped the wounded, said it was "a shocking scene" with "women and children lying on the floor, bleeding and screaming for help."
Israeli troops backed by helicopters began hunting for the Palestinian militants later on Tuesday, amidst concern about further attacks, from possible suicide bombers.
MILITANT "BABY BOMBER"
On Sunday, July 14, the Israeli Army already released what it described as the second photograph of a Palestinian toddler posing as a jihad fighter, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) News Service reported.
The infant is seen with a handgun and ammunition clip in his lap and an imitation M-16 assault rifle at his side, the ICEJ News Service said. He also is wearing a striped-blue sports cap that says "Happy Beaver."
The photo was reportedly discovered last week during house-to-house searches in the town of Hebron, where another picture of an alleged Palestinian baby suicide bomber was discovered in June, adorned with fake explosives, an ammunition belt and a red headband of the extremist Hamas organization.
PICTURE WAS "JOKE"
That child’s grandfather told the Sky News network that the picture was meant as a "joke," but it drew few laughs among Israelis and abroad, the ICEJ News Agency said. Palestinian Christians in the area have repeatedly urged churches to pray for peace and reconciliation in the troubled region.
The latest bloodshed and tensions came as talks were underway in a New York hotel between members of the so-called Quartet, the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, aimed at searching for a way to broker peace in the Middle East.
Secretary of State Colin Powell is chairing the high-level meeting looking for a common approach to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Voice of America (VOA) reported. US President George W. Bush has severely criticized Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and recently linked his departure to support for a Palestinian state.
