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The
bus was badly damaged by the bombing
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Additional
Reporting By Mostafa al-Sawaf, IOL Correspondents
OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, August 19 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - At least
twenty people were killed and more than 105 wounded in a huge bus bomb
blast late Tuesday, August 19, in occupied Jerusalem, the head of the
Israeli emergency medical service Magen David Adom said.
"It
is the worst bus incident we've ever had," director general Avid
Zohar told reporters at the scene.
There
were contradicted reports regarding the responsibility for the attack.
Speaking
to IslamOnline.net, Mohammad el-Hindi, a leading figure of the
Palestinian resistance group Islamic Jihad, denied any knowledge of
the operation.
He,
instead, heaped blame on the Israeli government of Ariel Sharon for
the flare-up of violence after repeatedly violating the truce
declared by the major Palestinian resistance groups on June 29 and
impeding the implementation of the roadmap.
Nafez
Azzam, Jihad spokesman in Gaza, also told IOL they had no information
whatsoever about the attack and reiterated commitment to the truce.
He,
like el-Hindi, blamed Israeli for the current escalation in the
occupied territories because of incessant Israeli aggressions against
the Palestinian people.
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Israeli
police stand next covered bodies
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On
Thursday, August 15, Israeli troops launched a rocket
attack on a house in the southern West Bank city of Al-Khalil, killing
Mohamed Al-Sedr, a local leader of the Islamic Jihad, triggering vows
of revenge from the resistance group.
However,
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that Jihad military wing, Al-Quds
Brigades, was behind the bombing.
"We
take responsibility for this attack," a member of the brigade
reportedly told AFP by phone on condition of anonymity.
He
argued that the group would issue a more detailed statement later.
Israeli
police chief Miky Levy had earlier claimed that a Palestinian was
carrying a huge explosive charge and blew himself up inside the bus.
Israeli
forces rushed to the scene of the attack and ambulances were taking
the wounded to nearby hospitals.
The
occupation troops cordoned off the area and launched a combing
operation in search of other explosive charges.
No
Talks, No Pullouts
In
an immediate retaliation, Israel froze all moves to transfer security
responsibility for two West Bank towns to the Palestinians.
"Israel
has cancelled the talks and frozen all moves to withdraw from Qalqilya
and Jericho," Elias Zananieri, spokesman for Palestinian Minister
of State for Security Affairs Mohammed Dahlan, told AFP.
The
two sides had been slated to meet late Tuesday to iron out lingering
disagreements over the pullbacks from both towns, which was due to
take place later this week.
