Islamic Suicide Bomber Attacks Jerusalem Bus

Islamic Suicide Bomber Attacks Jerusalem Bus

Three bodies can be seen around a blown up Jerusalem bus as rescue workers inspect the area.
As Israel seeks a peaceful solution with the Palestinians, Islamic Jihad and Hamas have declared
that their objective is the total destruction of the State of Israel. Photo: AP

Jerusalem---January 29... An Islamic suicide bomber blew himself up on a bus in Jerusalem this morning, killing at least 10 civilians and wounding about 50 in an attack outside Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's official residence, police and paramedics said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The explosion coincided with a German-brokered prisoner swap between Israel and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah. It was not clear whether there was a connection.

The terror attack took place just before 9 a.m. in the Rehavia district in downtown Jerusalem, just 15 yards from Sharon's official residence. Sharon was at his farm in southern Israel at the time, his aides said.

Stephane Ben Shushan, who owns a chocolate store in the upscale neighborhood, was walking to work and was outside his shop, about 10 yards away, when the explosion went off.

"It's indescribable," he said. "It's a real nightmare, you can smell the blood." He said there was heavy traffic and the bus was driving slow at the time.

Sharon's spokesman, Raanan Gissin, said the attack illustrated why Israel is building a security fence in the West Bank. Israel says that the anti-terror fence is needed to keep suicide bombers out of Israel. "The rest of the world should sit back and let us do what we need to do to defend ourselves," Gissin said.

The Palestinian bomber was in the back of the bus when he detonated the explosives, said Jerusalem Police Chief Mickey Levy.

"It was a very serious attack on a bus packed with passengers," Levy said at the scene. "According to what we know at the moment ... we're talking about a suicide bomber."

Following the barbaric attack, disoriented people were seen milling around, some were seen on the scene walking around with pieces of human flesh on them. A pools of blood were seen on the ground, and broken glass and twisted metal littered the streets.

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The green Egged bus was charred, with wires dangling everywhere. One side of the bus had been blown out and the back half of the roof was blown off.

Police investigators with sniffer dogs searched the bus. Paramedics were taking away the wounded on stretchers. Others were treated at the scene. People, dazed and crying, wandered around the area. One crying woman said she had been walking down the street when she heard a loud explosion.

The explosion came just two days after senior Egyptian officials made another attempt to win a pledge from Palestinian terrorists to halt attacks on Israelis. The attack was a further setback to international efforts to bring about a resumption of peace talks. The U.S.-led "road map" peace plan has been stalled almost since its inception in June.

Palestinian Authority officials condemned the bombing. "This vicious cycle can only be broken by renewal of a meaningful peace process," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. "Otherwise, otherwise violence will breed violence, bullets will breed bullets."

Former Israeli UN Ambassador Dore Gold stated that Israel will not negotiate with the Palestinian Authority or any other terror organization while Israeli citizens are being murdered in the streets. Gold said that you cannot compare the arsonist with the policeman and that Israel will use every measure it can to prevent future terror attacks. "This attack had to have been planned many weeks in advance," Gold said. "This terror attack on Israeli civilians had nothing to do with our defensive operations in Gaza."

The last attack in Israel was a suicide bombing at a bus stop outside of Tel Aviv on Dec. 25 that murdered four people.

"This terrorist attack is the best argument that we can use to defend the sacred right of Israel to exercise legitimate self-defense," Gissin said.

"No institution or country can give us lessons in morality in regard to the fence after the scenes of horror in Jerusalem," he added.

The Israeli government decided late Wednesday that it would challenge the ICJ's right to rule on the legality of the barrier at a hearing in The Hague beginning on February 23.

"The cabinet decided last night to file a document in which we will argue that the court cannot give a ruling on the fence as it is a political issue," a source close to Sharon said. The 150-page document will also detail the "security reasons" behind construction of the barrier.

The ICJ was asked to rule on the legality of the barrier after a vote by the United Nations in early December.

"It was agreed that a ramified information campaign would be conducted parallel to the legal proceedings, in Israel, the US and Europe," a statement issued by the prime minister's office said.

Any ruling from the court would be non-binding and only has the potential to embarrass Israel in an attempt to weaken Israel's security and it's war on terrorism.