Militants claim responsibility for rush-hour bus bombing

A militant Islamic Jihad group has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on a rush-hour bus in Israel.

Six passengers and the bomber died in the explosion on the packed commuter bus in northern Israel.

Analysts are viewing the attack as the most serious challenge yet to week-long US-led Middle East truce efforts.

The blast also wounded 28 passengers, 10 of them seriously. The powerful explosion blew out the sides of the bus, and sent passengers flying into the air.

Witness, truck driver Nahum Borochov, said: "I saw everything go black, and seconds later the smoke cleared and I saw everyone screaming and crying."

In a telephone call to The Associated Press, Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.

The group identified the attacker as Rafat Abu Diyak, 24, from the West Bank town of Jenin, and said the bombing came as revenge for Israel's killing of group members in recent military strikes.

The attack comes at a time when a Saudi peace plan is gaining momentum. The proposals would see Israel withdraw from all occupied territories in exchange for peace with the Arab world.

Israeli officials have expressed doubts about the Palestinians' ability to carry out the pledge, since militias, even those loyal to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, have become increasingly powerful in the past 18 months of fighting.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have carried out scores of attacks on Israelis, have said they would not honor a truce. A Hamas spokesman, Ismail Abu Shanab, says that attacks on Israelis would continue, despite the Palestinian Authority's renewed call for a truce.