AL QUDS, Feb 22: A Palestinian suicide bomber killed eight people on a crowded bus here on Sunday on the eve of World Court hearings into a controversial barrier Israel says will ensure its security against such attacks.
Police said around 60 people were wounded in the blast, which turned the green number 14 bus into a charred skeleton at a busy intersection near the Inbal Hotel, where leaders of major US Jewish organizations were meeting.
"People were screaming 'mommy, daddy'. There were body parts everywhere including some hands and feet scattered outside the bus," medic Reuven Pohl said.
The World Court begins hearings in The Hague on Monday on the legality of the West Bank barrier that Israel says keeps suicide bombers out, but which Palestinians call a land grab.
The militant group al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the bombing and released a farewell video showing the bomber seated in front of the group's flag.
In a statement it called the barrier "a Nazi wall which will not stop us attacking". It later issued a "clarification" denying involvement in the bombing, which it said only served Israeli propaganda interests. It did not explain why it had issued the earlier statement or the video.
Mr Arafat's office condemned the bombing and called the timing deliberate and harmful for the diplomatic campaign against the barrier. The top Palestinian security body vowed to bring those responsible to justice.
When an Israeli minister suggested at Sunday's cabinet meeting that the attack could be seen as a protest against the barrier, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said: "We don't have to look for a reason why Jews are killed and they won't stop killing Jews ever."
The bomber struck during the morning rush hour at the start of the Israeli work week. Police said the bomb was packed with metal shards to make it more deadly.
FAREWELL VIDEO: Al-Aqsa named the bomber as Mohammed Zaal, a 23-year-old from Hussan village. It said the attack was a reaction to the barrier and to an Israeli raid that killed 15 Palestinians in Gaza City on February 11.
In the farewell video, the bomber read a statement that warned Israelis "the more your army attacks our people, the more martyrdom operations there will be". -Reuters
