Suicide bomber eight in Jerusalem bus attack
The attack came just a day before the International Court of Justice at the Hague was to begin hearings on the barrier, which Israel says is critical to keeping out bombers that have killed hundreds of Israelis in more than three years of violence.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militant group loosely affiliated with Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack and identified the bomber as Mohammed Zool, 23, from the village of Hussan near Bethlehem.
Soon after the bombing, Israeli troops sealed off Bethlehem and Palestinian police left their posts in the town, Palestinian security sources said.
The huge blast went off at about 0830 (0630 GMT) during morning rush-hour as the bus drove past a petrol station in Jerusalem.
"It was like an earthquake," Ora Yairov, who was at the petrol station during the explosion, told Channel One television. "The station was filled with shattered glass and pieces of flesh."
The explosion ripped apart the back of the green bus and scattered body parts and shattered glass across a two-block radius. The windows were blown out, the windscreen cracked and the roof was raised.
Israeli authorities said seven were killed, but later an official at the forensic institute said there were parts of eight bodies, not including the bomber.
"I felt blood on my head. I saw terrible things. I tried not to look," said Moshe Salama, a 56-year-old alternative healer who was on the bus.
Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz called a meeting with top security officials last night to discuss possible responses to the attack.
Israeli officials said the attack never would have happened had the section of the barrier being built around Jerusalem already been completed.
"This attack proves just how urgent it is to build the fence," Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said. "It is a clear preventive measure. We will continue building it because it saves lives."
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia condemned the bombing, calling for "an immediate halt to these actions," which he said gave Israel an excuse to continue building the barrier and to carry out raids against militants.
The explosion came from a medium-sized bomb laced with pieces of iron that exploded in the centre of the bus, police said. Rescue officials said 59 were injured, in addition to the eight dead passengers.
A security agent had boarded the bus a few stops before the explosion, checked it and then got off, Gidi Goldflam, a passenger, told Army Radio. It was unclear if the bomber had been on the bus at the time. The blast occurred near the Inbal Hotel, where American Jewish leaders were listening to a speech by Army chief Lt Gen Moshe Yaalon.
European officials condemned the bombing, saying it was a calculated effort by terrorists to torpedo peace efforts. "Their calculation must not succeed - terror and violence must come to an end," German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said. The attack came as Israeli workers started removing a section of the West Bank separation barrier about five miles of fencing, razor wire and trenches that has isolated the Palestinian town of Baka al-Sharkia from the rest of the West Bank for more than a year. The move appeared aimed at softening criticism ahead of the court hearing. Israel has come under increasing pressure even domestic legal challenges to reroute the barrier to more closely conform to its border with the West Bank and lessen the impact on the lives of Palestinians. When completed, the barrier is to be more than 434.98 miles long.
Israeli officials said the bombing provided clear proof of the need for the barrier.
