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Bus bomb kill 14 { October 22 2002 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-israelmain,0,6247038.storyhttp://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-israelmain,0,6247038.story
Palestinian Group Claims Bus Bombing; 14 Killed
By The Washington Post
October 22, 2002
Karkur Junction, Israel -- At least 14 people were killed and 50 more injured yesterday when a car laden with an estimated 200 pounds of explosives rammed the rear of a commuter bus on a crowded highway in northern Israel.
The ferocity of the blast turned the bus into a fireball, burning some of its passengers alive. It flattened about six nearby vehicles, threw the automobile carrying the explosives 100 yards from the scene and spewed debris hundreds of feet.
Israeli police said they believe two Palestinians were inside the rigged car. The engine block was the only part of the vehicle that survived the blast.
The militant Islamic Jihad movement claimed responsibility for the attack and in a letter faxed to The Associated Press in Beirut said the bombing was in "retaliation for the series of massacres committed by the criminal enemy against our people." It listed several recent Israeli military operations that have killed civilians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
The blast occurred at the start of the afternoon rush hour at the Karkur Junction east of the town of Hadera. It was the fourth time a car bomb has exploded near a bus in this area, which is near the Green Line separating Israel and the West Bank. Bus driver Hayim Avraham said a passenger had just climbed the steps into the bus when "the car bomb hit the back of the bus and the whole bus was dismantled and started burning." Firefighters who arrived at the scene said they could not rescue passengers trapped inside because of the intensity of the fire.
Israeli authorities immediately condemned the attack but declined to say what type of action Israel might take against Palestinians in response to the bombing.
Zalman Shoval, senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, blamed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for "not making it clear to different Palestinian groups that violence and terror have to stop." Shoval said the northern area near the scene of the incident has been a frequent target of bombing and other attacks because "it is easy to infiltrate there, there's no physical barrier."
The bombing was the first attack inside Israel in 10 days; the last one involved a suicide bomber who slipped and fell trying to clamber aboard a commuter bus in Tel Aviv on Oct. 10. The bomber and a woman who was walking nearby died in that incident.
The Bush administration condemned yesterday's bombing, but officials said it would not derail peace efforts.
"It's another reminder of how it's so important for peace to be pursued and for terror to be stopped," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. Copyright © 2002, Newsday, Inc.
Copyright © 2002, Newsday, Inc.
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