Jerusalem-----October 1......Arab Islamic terrorists detonated a car bomb in a peaceful residential neighborhood in southern Jerusalem this morning.

The deadly blast, which was targeted by Palestinian terrorists to kill as many children as possible, took place shortly after 9 a.m. at the height of rush hours. The explosion took place across the street from a school for children with disabilities. Due to a Jewish holiday, the school had been closed.
Luckily only one person sustained minor shrapnel wounds from shards of glass in the attack. He was treated at the scene by Magen David Adom.

Many others were taken to Jerusalem's Bikur Holim hospital and were treated for shock.

An elderly man, is suspected of having suffered a heart attack, according to the hospital spokesman.

Islamic Jihad has taken responsibility for the attack, according to Qatar-based Al-Jazeera Television.

The blast took place adjacent to the "Bank Junction," on Bethlehem Road parallel to Hebron Road. The booby-trapped vehicle was in a small parking lot next to an apartment building several dozen meters south of the intersection, when it blew up. Police say the bomb was placed in a residential area due to the intense police and military security which exists in downtown Jerusalem.

Firefighters quickly arrived at the scene, according to eyewitnesses, and doused the burning remains of the car.

Jerusalem police Cmdr. Mickey Levy said the explosive device was moderately large. The 12-kilogram bomb, hidden in the vehicle, was made up of a liquid propane gas tank, Kalashnikov and M-16 rifle bullets, ball bearings, nails and other metal parts in order to magnify the lethal effect of the blast, Army Radio said.

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, after learning that Islamic Jihad had taken responsibility for the attack, said, "Islamic Jihad and Hamas are the [Osama] bin-Laden of the Middle East and we must fight them in a war without compromise, giving them no quarter."

The explosion shattered windows, sent a cloud of black smoke into the air and lifted at least one car off the ground beside the busy Hebron Road while Israelis were shopping on the eve of the Jewish Succot holiday.

Internal Security Minister Uzi Landau said in the wake of the attack that "there was no point in continuing security talks with the Palestinians. Events of this nature are proof of the need to fight the head of the Palestinian Authority [Chairman Yasser Arafat] with all of our abilities. This is a criminal that repeats himself over and over whenever he gets the chance," Landau said, referring to Arafat.

"He just shoots, nonstop and blindly," he said, continuing, "therefore we must wage war against Arafat. The police must make preparations, together with the public," Landau said.

One eyewitness said "I was outside working on our Succa with our children and several others when I saw a big pink flash and a large rolling blast." A Succa is a temporary dwelling erected for the week-long Feast of Tabernacles holiday, Succot, that begins this evening. The man hurried the children to safety and broke out his home first-aid kit, to assist the wounded in the blast.

EMS, police, and firefighting forces were on the scene within moments, he said, making the kit unnecessary. .

This is the first terrorist bombing attack in Jerusalem since the cease-fire agreement between Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat last week. The blast comes on the background of numerous bomb and shooting attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF forces throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip overnight.

The Israeli government has repeatedly stated that Arafat was not doing enough to end the incitement and violence. On Sunday the Israeli government gave Arafat 48 hours to implement the cease-fire. Arafat, who has made a reputation of talking peace while shooting Israel civilians, was asked by the Israeli government to arrest 10 terrorists considered to be "ticking bombs." Arafat has ignored past pleas to arrest Islamic terrorists by both the Israeli and United States governments - Arab terrorists who were recently responsible for murdering men, women and children inside Israel's borders.

Police and military in Israel remain on high alert, setting up hundreds of checkpoints on the nation's roads and increasing security at junior and senior High Schools.

ISRAEL NEWS AGENCY