Suicide bomber kills seven others in Jerusalem

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Editor's note: This story was submitted to Israeli military censors as required by the government, and deletions were made. JERUSALEM (AP) — A suicide bomber sprang from a car, slipped past a pair of policemen and blew himself up at a busy Jerusalem intersection Wednesday, killing at least seven other people in the second deadly attack in the city in two days.

Responding, Israeli forces forces moved into Bethlehem and the nearby Dheisheh refugee camp early Thursday and declared a curfew, the military said in a statement. Troops also moved into Beitunia, a suburb of Ramallah, and searched for suspects. Soldiers also occupied Qalqiliya, placing the West Bank town under curfew.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and three others wounded when they entered a house of a suspected militant, and shooting broke out, the military said. Shortly after the suicide attack, Israeli helicopters fired rockets at metal workshops in the Gaza Strip used to manufacture weapons. Thirteen Palestinians were hurt, two seriously, Palestinian doctors said.

A group tied to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, according to Al Manner television station run out of Lebanon by the militant Islamic group Hezbollah.

Israel said early Wednesday that it would seize and hold parts of Palestinian territory in retaliation for terror attacks, and troops moved into three West Bank towns. Arafat was expected to call for a halt to attacks against Israeli civilians in a speech on Thursday.

An advance copy of the speech set for Palestinian TV, obtained by The Associated Press, urges an end to the attacks, because “these operations have given the Israeli government the excuse to reoccupy our land, killing hundreds of our innocent people and destroying all that we have built in the last eight years.”

The difficulty of stopping attacks was underscored early Thursday, when an armed Palestinian tried to break into a high school in the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, next to Hebron. Soldiers shot and killed the attacker, the military said.

In one of his strongest condemnations ever, Pope John Paul II decried Tuesday's attack, saying “those who plot and plan such barbarous attacks will have to answer before God.” More than 50 prominent Palestinians signed a full-page newspaper ad in al Quds news urging groups behind deadly assaults on Israeli civilians to “stop sending our young people to carry out such attacks.”

On Wednesday, the bomber emerged from a red Audi and dashed toward a concrete bus stop shelter, which is also used as a hitchhiking post. The intersection has been targeted by assailants in the past and was heavily guarded. “The police chased him to try to stop him, and when he got to the (bus stop), he blew up a large device,” said Jerusalem Police Chief Mickey Levy.

One policeman chasing the bomber was badly hurt, Levy said. More than 35 people were wounded, many of them seriously. Israeli troops, meanwhile, fortified their positions in the northern West Bank, suggesting plans for an extended stay. The move came after the government announced it was prepared to reoccupy Palestinian areas in response to attacks.

Tuesday's bombing on a Jerusalem bus killed 19 people, the worst in Jerusalem in six years.

How this transcription was made

Assembled from 2 scans: the front page (s102_1), which ends 'In one of his strongest condemnations ever, Pope John Paul II decried' and carries the refer 'See BOMBING on next page', and the jump (s102_2), headed 'Bombing / Continued from page 1', which opens 'Tuesday's attack, saying "those who plot and plan such barbarous attacks..."'. The sentence completes across the break, so the join is certain. Maria's 'same article keep together' is right. — No masthead on either cut; attribution rests on Maria's label. — No printed date. The bombing is reported as happening 'Wednesday' with Israeli forces moving into Bethlehem 'early Thursday' and Arafat's speech expected 'on Thursday', which places the paper on Thursday. June 19 2002 was a Wednesday, so a June 20 2002 paper fits Maria's label. The year is not printed; it is fixed by 'Tuesday's bombing on a Jerusalem bus killed 19 people, the worst in Jerusalem in six years' (the Patt junction bus bombing, 18 June 2002) and by the reference to Israel's announced readiness to reoccupy Palestinian areas. — The whole article across both scans. Two printed errors kept as set: 'Israeli forces forces moved into Bethlehem' (the word doubled) and 'Al Manner television station' (the Hezbollah station is Al Manar). The parenthesis in Levy's quote, '(bus stop)', is the AP's own interpolation and is printed so. The editor's note is transcribed at the head because that is where it sits, between the headline and the dateline. — Two clippings of one article, joined into a single image for the record (s102_1.png, s102_2.png).

Cite this clipping

"Suicide bomber kills seven others in Jerusalem," The Jamestown Sun, 20 June 2002, p. 1. Covering Palestine archive, CP-2002-137. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-2002-137