BICOM

In the first bus bombing attack in Jerusalem since 2004, a British national was killed and 39 wounded when a suitcase close to a bus stop exploded as two buses were pulling in. According to reports, the only fatality was a 60 year old British woman visiting Israel as a tourist. Her relatives have now been informed.

The explosive device weighed between around two kilograms, and was packed with ball bearings, nails and screws which accounted for a large number of the injuries. The terrorist attack took place at 3pm, close to the Central Bus Station and the Jerusalem International Convention Center. Senior Defence Ministry official Amos Gilad, in a briefing to the foreign media yesterday evening, said that it was too early to speculate regarding the identity of those responsible for the attack. No organisation has claimed responsibility, though a number of Palestinian terrorist groups, including Islamic Jihad, expressed their support for the attack.

The incident was not a suicide bombing, of the type that became familiar to Jerusalemites in the 2000-4 period. Rather, the attacker deposited the explosives and made his escape. He remains at large. There has been some media speculation that the incident may have been the work of individuals not connected to any organisation. However, the relative sophistication of the explosive device used, which is thought to have included a timer, would appear to indicate at least the involvement of individuals with some skill in the assembling of explosives.

Police and security forces are on the highest level of alert in Jerusalem today as the hunt for those responsible continues. The attack is not expected to lead to a major change in Israel’s current security deployment in the West Bank, but it has struck a heavy blow at the sense of normality which had gradually returned to life in Jerusalem following the period of the Second Intifada.

The bombing was condemned by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.