Ahead of a world court hearing over Israel’s West Bank barrier, a Palestinian suicide bomber killed eight passengers on a Jerusalem bus, and Israeli officials said it was proof of why the controversial fence was needed.

The main Palestinian terror groups called off their eight-week-old ceasefire today after a Hamas leader was killed in an Israeli missile attack.

THE US-backed road map to peace in the Middle East was in crisis last night after a suicide bomber killed at least 16 on a Jerusalem bus and seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza City.

Palestinian gunmen opened fire today on Israeli soldiers and civilian cars at an army checkpoint in the West Bank, killing nine people and wounding two seriously, a paramedic on the scene said.

The death toll in the Jerusalem pizza restaurant bombing is believed to have risen to at least 19.