A possible suicide bomber blew up a crowded commuter bus during morning rush hour Monday, killing six people and tearing a new hole in the fraying Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
At least 33 people, including a 13-year-old boy, were wounded in the attack in a Tel Aviv suburb.Police said the fragments of a body found at the center of the blast amid charred metal and shards of glass may have been those of the suicide bomber, who Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said apparently carried a pipe stuffed with explosives.
An anonymous caller to The Associated Press, speaking in Arabic, said the attack was carried out by the military wing of the Islamic group Hamas "because of Israel's violation of accords and procrastination in implementing the accords with Palestinians" and the deaths of Palestinians.
The attack came a day before Israel and the PLO's target date for an agreement on expanding autonomy in the West Bank, which both sides had said they were unlikely to meet.
Hamas opposes peace talks, demanding that Israel withdraw immediately from the West Bank and Gaza Strip and dismantle all Jewish settlements. The group also opposes the Palestinian government, calling it too secular and demanding a bigger role for Hamas.
The explosion occurred at about 8:45 a.m. in the Ramat Gan business district in front of the 40-story diamond market, part of a cluster of gleaming skyscrapers.
Witnesses said mangled bodies and body parts were strewn on the floor of the bus. The bomb tore a hole in the side of the bus and blew out all the windows.
"The bus stopped at the intersection, and I heard an explosion," said Shlomi Uziel, a 23-year-old university student who was sitting in the rear seat. He was slightly injured by flying glass.
"People screamed. I didn't know what was happening," Uziel said. "I jumped out the window at the back of the bus. I couldn't see anything because there was blood all over my face."
Orthodox Jews dressed in black, members of Israel's burial society, collected flesh and blood from the scene for burial.
Hundreds of onlookers gathered near the scene and lit candles. A group of about 50 people shouted "Death to the Arabs" and slogans against Rabin. "This peace is killing us," one sign read.
At least 131 Israelis have been killed in attacks since the Israel-PLO accord was signed Sept. 13, 1993.
Rabin ordered a suspension of PLO-Israel talks, under way at a Dead Sea resort. He said they would not resume until after the funerals of the victims. But Rabin said he would not let the attack stop the peace process.