central Jerusalem Wednesday June 11, killing at least 17 people and injuring dozens more, police and eyewitnesses said.
The attack came a day after the militant group Hamas pledged more violence to revenge the attempted assassination of its leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi by Israel on Tuesday, June 10 with attacks that would "set the land on fire."
In a statement Rantisi said late Wednesday, June 11, that the attack was "an answer to (Prime Minister) Sharon," who ordered the assassination.
"The blast on Egged bus no. 14 occurred at the top of Jaffa Road at about 5.30pm, not far from the city’s main produce market," said the well informed International Christian Embassy Jerusalem in a statement monitored by BosNewsLife.
"NAILS AND METAL"
"At least 50 are estimated wounded, 15 of whom sustained serious, potentially life-threatening injuries, according to ambulance workers," the ICEJ said. The bomber, who was reportedly disguised as an ultra- Orthodox Jew, detonated a device packed with nails and metal fragments, to increase its devastating effect, police said.
"The bus was torn to shreds. There was a massive blast, it’s a horrific scene," one witness told Israeli radio.
"I heard the blast… Then I heard people yelling and running in the direction of the explosion, screaming ‘attack", said Ofir Alon, who was nearby the explosion, reported the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
As news emerged of the latest carnage, United States President George W Bush said he "strongly condemned" the Jerusalem bombing, and called on countries to cut off funding to Hamas. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who the U.S. and Israel have linked to terrorism, also condemned the attack but urged "both sites" to end the violence.
FRESH ISRAELI ATTACKS
But as ambulance evacuated Israeli passengers injured in the bus bombing, Israeli forces mounted fresh military operations in the Gaza Strip. Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a car, destroying the vehicle and killing at least two Hamas militants and five civilians, Palestinian sources said.
"The helicopter fired missiles at a car and left it to burn," the BBC quoted a witness as saying. "Pools of blood, cut-off body parts, cut-off heads – this is what I saw."
Television pictures from the scene showed hundreds of people crowded around the still-burning wreckage of a car, chanting for revenge. It was the third Israeli missile attack against Palestinian targets in Gaza in the past 24 hours.
Despite pressure from both Washington and the Palestinian authority to end the air strikes, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government described the attempted assassination of Rantisi and other Hamas officials as "justified." In a statement the Cabinet said "the government would take every action possible to ensure the security of its citizens."
