More death and heartache was heaped on long-suffering Israel today.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade on Sunday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Jerusalem on Egged bus No. 14, in which six men and one woman were killed and sixty-six people were wounded Sunday morning.One of the seven people killed in the blast was identified Sunday as Lior Azulai, 18, who studied at the Gymnasia Rehavia high school in the capital. Nine other school pupils were wounded in the attack.
A statement released by the militant group, associated with PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, named the bomber as Mohammed Za'el, 23, from the village of Hussan near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, and made a reference to the security fence being built by Israel.
The attack came just a day before the International Court of Justice in The Hague is to begin hearings on the West Bank separation fence Israel says is crucial for keeping out bombers.
The blast took place at around 8:30 A.M. in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Rehavia, near Liberty Bell Park. The bus, travelling to the Beit Hakerem neighborhood, is usually very crowded at this time of day.
Eyewitnesses reported a grim scene.
Mahmoud Abu Snein, a Palestinian working at a gas station near the site of the attack said he was at the station making coffee when the bus exploded. "The bus exploded in front of me, and pieces of glass and body parts flew into the gas station," he said."It was like an earthquake," Ora Yairov, who was at the gas station during the explosion, told Channel One television. "The station was filled with shattered glass and pieces of flesh."
Many of the wounded, as well as one of the dead, were students on their way to school.
Lior Azulai, 18, was a 12th grader at the Gymnasia Rehavia high school in Jerusalem and lived in the city's Bak'a neighborhood. Azulai was on his way to school when he was killed in Sunday's suicide bombing. He is survived by his parents and an older sister.Azulai majored in Bible studies and communications. His friends and teachers said he was one of the funniest and most social students in his class. He was also a talented forward for his school's soccer team.
Lior's aunt Iris Azulai was killed in a terror attack in Jerusalem 12 years ago.
One of my daughters turned 18 last Thursday. She's funny and sociable too. Thanks to President Bush, our brave military and many others, we don't worry too much about one of her bus rides becoming a terrorist charnel house.
By the way, Yasir Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his "efforts to create peace in the Middle East."
Posted by Alan at February 22, 2004 08:22 AM