Palestinian suicide bomber hits Jerusalem
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-23 00:15

A Palestinian suicide bomber blew herself up near a crowded bus stop in Jerusalem on Wednesday, killing one other person and wounding at least 14 others, Israeli authorities said.

The explosion occurred at a busy intersection in a Jewish neighborhood close to the West Bank that has been attacked by suicide bombers before.

An Israeli border police officer stands guard overlooking a bulldozer, working at the sight of the separation barrier Israel is building, during a demonstration at the village of Budrus, West of the West Bank town of Ramallah, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2004. Several dozen unarmed Palestinians clashed for the second straight day with Israeli troops, leaving three Palestinians hospitalized with rubber-bullet wounds. [AP]

The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent group loosely linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed responsibility in a telephone call to The Associated Press.

Moshe Suissa of the Jerusalem fire department said the attacker tried to approach a hitchhiking post used by Israeli soldiers when a border police officer spotted her.

"He tried to stop her and she blew up," Suissa told Channel Two television.

The blast destroyed the bus stop, scattering shards of glass in the road as the smell of burned rubber wafted in the air.

Israeli rescue workers reported one dead and 14 wounded, including at least one person in serious condition.

It was the first Palestinian suicide bombing since Aug. 31, when two attackers killed 16 people in the southern city of Beersheba, and the first to strike Jerusalem since Feb. 22.

Palestinian militants have staged more than 100 suicide bombings inside Israel during four years of fighting. Women have carried out at least eight of the attacks.

Most of the women were tied to the Al Aqsa group, although the Islamic groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad have also dispatched women.

Some counterterrorism experts have speculated that the militant groups have turned to using women because they raise less suspicion among Israeli soldiers.

Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat condemned the attack, saying the Palestinians oppose all violence aimed at civilians.

He called on the United States to use its influence to bring the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

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