The passengers on the bus were not so lucky It is, after all, the Gaza Road, and the bomber left a note in which he said that the attack was to avenge the deaths of eight Palestinians - five militants and three civilians, reportedly including an 11-year-old boy - who were killed in an Israeli incursion into Gaza City the day before.Like so many of the bombings, this was about revenge. But it was not by chance that the suicide bomber chose this particular street, and Mr Sharon's official home may not have been the only reason. Everyone in Jerusalem remembers such a bombing in Caf?oment in March 2002, a fashionable bar a short distance from the site of yesterday's attack That one was even closer to the Prime Minister's residence. Then he fell forward again in shock."You could not help the people. They were trapped under the seats and they were calling out to you to help but you couldn't because of the seats."It was not the first suicide bombing on this street. She was dressed like she was going to a party, in tights and fashionable black shoes."The passengers were in shock. It took a while, then they started to cry out, 'Help us! Help us!' The driver came round and he turned to look at the passengers. He found a severed hand that flew over his head and landed in the street behind him."The driver of the bus slumped forward in his seat and the bus stopped immediately," he said "I went to help and I saw half the body of a woman She was young, maybe 18, not more than 20. Meshulam Perlman, who was setting up at his florist's shop as the bomb went off 50 metres away, found a woman's waist and legs severed from her upper body.He said: "I saw a light from the bus, then I saw in slow motion the roof of the bus begin to blow off." Pieces of metal flew towards Mr Perlman, narrowly missing him. Ariel Sharon was away but he would never have been in danger anyway, inside his well-shielded residence, set back from the street.The passengers on the bus were not so lucky. The bomber may have intended to send a message by setting off his explosives so near to the Prime Minister's residence. Rescue workers said the blast was so powerful that several passengers were blown through the roof.
Even after they collected the remains of the dead and carried the bus away, the smell of blood still hung over the scene.This was the 29th suicide bombing in Jerusalem since the start of the intifada, but no one was expecting this attack, after such a long lull inside Israel. More than 50 were injured in the explosion, at about 9am local time, 100 metres from the Israeli Prime Minister's official residence on the Gaza Road. The bomber was named as a Palestinian policeman from Bethlehem. All that was left of the back half of the bus was a twisted skeleton of metal. At least 10 people were killed in a suicide bombing on a bus in central Jerusalem yesterday. And many congressional figures who backed Mr Dean when it seemed - so recently - that he was the pre-anointed nominee, are having uncomfortable second thoughts.. Mr Gore, a former supporter, is now nowhere to be seen on the campaign trail, and the same goes for Bill Bradley, whom Mr Gore defeated for the 2000 nomination. The former Vermont governor sees them as a springboard for a come-back, but Mr Kerry has opened up a double-digit lead there.The tribulations of the Dean campaign have embarrassed many of his high-profile endorsers. |
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