Bus bombing, rocket attack leave 23 dead

JERUSALEM: A Palestinian suicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus that killed at least 16 people and an Israeli rocket attack in Gaza that killed another seven people, including two Hamas militants, left a new Mideast peace effort in tatters yesterday, just a week after it was launched.

The suicide bombing in one of Jerusalem's most heavily policed areas also underscored the vulnerability of Israel and the ineffectiveness of the Palestinian Authority's efforts to persuade militants to end terror attacks — and it reflected the breakdown of efforts to bring Hamas to accept a truce with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said late yesterday, after the Gaza strike, that "the state of Israel will continue to pursue until the end, the terrorists and those that send them." Hamas claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, which was condemned by Israeli and Palestinian leaders, including the isolated Yasser Arafat, who condemned both attacks and called for an immediate end to violence.

The bus bombing was carried out by a man disguised as an ultra-Orthodox Jew who boarded bus No 14 during the early evening rush hour on Jaffa Street, Jerusalem's main thoroughfare, police said. The explosion, the most deadly bus bombing in three months, occurred near the Mahane Yehuda outdoor market, a heavily policed area repeatedly targeted by Palestinian militants in the past. Witnesses said bodies were thrown through the air as the bus was ripped apart. Police said 16 bystanders were killed and 70 wounded. Less than an hour after the Jerusalem bombing, Israeli helicopter gunships fired two missiles at a small Fiat carrying two members of the Hamas military wing, Tito Massoud, 35, and Soheil Abu Nahel, 29, killing them instantly.