Police cordon off French Hill after bus bombing. (Reuters)

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A pair of explosions rocked Jerusalem on Tuesday. Two people were seriously wounded and at least thirty others lightly injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up close to a bus in Jerusalem's French Hill neighborhood. Five people were injured earlier in the day when a car bomb exploded next to a shopping mall in the capital's Talpiot neighborhood.

The more serious of the two bombings took place just after 1 pm in French Hill. According to Jerusalem area Police Chief, Commander Micky Levi, a suspicious looking man boarded bus number 6 carrying a large bag. The man aroused the suspicion of the other passengers, who told him to get off the bus. As he got off the bus, the terrorist blew himself up. Levi said that the terrorist wore explosives on a belt around his waist, and that it was a miracle the explosion happened outside the bus.

Danny Sarero, 35, said he was standing a few yards away

"I felt like I just wanted to run away from there." - eyewitness to Talpiot bombing.

from the bus when he heard the explosion. "The next thing I knew I saw a person cut in two, a body and a head lying in the street. I've never seen such a thing. Pieces of flesh [were] strewn around for 50 meters," Sarero told the Associated Press.

In a leaflet sent to news agencies, an unknown Palestinian group calling itself the "Popular Army Front" claimed responsibility for the blast. Palestinian Authority sources told ynet that they believe Hamas was responsible for the French Hill bus bombing.

Rush Hour Bomb in Talpiot
Five people were wounded at 7:40 a.m. when a car bomb was detonated by remote control in Jerusalem's Talpiot neighborhood. The bomb went off just as the morning rush hour was starting. According to police, a stolen vehicle was left in a no-parking zone on Yad Harutzim Street, a main shopping avenue in front of the mall.

Shai Cohen, an employee at a nearby bakery, witnessed the event and told the Associated Press about it. "We heard an enormous bang,'' he said. "Burning car parts were strewn all over the street. Some of the parts flew right across the intersection into the east entrance of the mall. Children were screaming and running into the mall for shelter."

Twelve year old Elad Bar, who was sitting in bus number 30 this morning as it passed the exploding car, told ynet there was a loud blast and people started screaming. "I felt like I just wanted to run away from there." Elad was lightly injured and made the statement from hospital.

Police sappers combed the area for evidence of the type of explosive used in the car bomb. The car was totally demolished in the explosion. A caller to Reuters claimed responsibility in the name of Islamic Jihad.

Israeli Leaders Advocate IDF Reaction
Internal Security Minister Uzi Landau visited the French Hill bombsite shortly after the attack, and said that the next few days would not be easy, as it was possible that similar attacks were on the way. "We should praise the public's vigilance and the efforts of the police which brought about the situation where the terrorist was afraid to get onto the bus, and instead blew himself up at a less successful point, from his point of view," he said.

PM Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer took part in a meeting with Security Service heads to decide on Israel's response to the string of recent attacks. ynet reported that the assessment amongst the security services is that the string of recent attacks is coordinated by elements within the PA, with the aim of provoking Israel into a retaliation, which could lead to operative measures against Israel at the Arab Summit taking place in Jordan.

In an interview with Jerusalem Post Radio, Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert said that the government had expected an escalation of violence during the Arab summit. "We have to assume that there will be further events like this. We are in a state of war." He blamed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for the day's events.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres vigorously condemned the bombings. "The only way to make peace is by negotiation without the threat of violence, without bombing and shooting. I think this is a great error which really affects the peace process negatively," Peres told CNN.

Science, Culture and Sport Minister Matan Vilnai told Army Radio that the IDF should reevaluate its policy in light of the recent increase in terrorist attacks. "No country in the world would put up with this," Vilnai said, adding, "The Palestinians have to understand they are responsible for this."

After consultations with security experts, Tel Aviv police chief Commander Yossi Sedbon decided to put more policemen on the street immediately, Army Radio reported.

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