Saturday, 2 March, 2002, 19:17 GMT Seven killed in Jerusalem blast
Saturday, 2 March, 2002, 19:17 GMT
Jerusalem police chief Mickey Levy said that at least seven people had been killed, including an 18-month-old baby girl, and the bomber. Hospital officials say that 36 people were wounded by the explosion, which occured as residents were leaving synagogues and returning to the streets at the end of the Sabbath.
The explosion was heard
across the city
A nearby car burst into flames, leading police to believe initially that it was a car bomb. "From a check of the cars, it seems it wasn't a car bomb, but a suicide bomber who approached a group of people," said Mr Levy.
Many Jews leaving synagogues watched the scene, as ambulances rushed to take the injured to hospital. This is yet another attack of Palestinian terror Israeli Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Yaffa Ben Ari "I came right out and saw a car on fire, the building next to it was also on fire," said one witness Yitzhak Weinberger. Police have evacuated the area in Beit Israel and to be searching for further devices. Palestinian militant groups have been vowing revenge for Israeli operations against them in two West Bank refugee camps.
West Bank withdrawal
Earlier on Saturday, Israel withdrew its troops from a refugee camp in the town of Jenin, two days after launching an assault aimed at rooting out suspected militants. But soldiers were continuing house-to-house searches in a second camp, Balata, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) away. The pullout followed international criticism of the Israeli raids and came hours after the Palestinian Authority said it was suspending contacts with Israel. Nineteen Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers have died since Israel entered the densely populated shanty towns on Thursday, in the deepest incursion into refugee camps since the current uprising began 17 months ago. A statement from the army said it would continue to operate in every place it saw fit. On Wednesday a Palestinian woman blew herself up at a checkpoint on the border between the West Bank and Israel. Israel said several recent suicide bombers had come from Jenin and Balata. Palestinian sources said about 250 gunmen had evaded Israeli troops and escaped to Jenin, only to return to the camp after the Israelis withdrew. A fighter from the al-Aqsa Brigades told AFP: "We have returned after the Israelis and their tanks left with failure and defeat."