World News Attack kills 20 on jerusalem bus

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JERUSALEM (AP) - A suicide bomber blew himself up Aug. 19 on a bus packed with Jewish worshippers heading for an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, killing at least 20 people, including five children.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad both claimed responsibility for the blast, one of the deadliest Palestinian attacks in the past three years.

More than 100 people were also injured, 40 of them children, hospital officials said.

The attack marked perhaps the most serious blow yet to the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan, which was unveiled three months ago. It shattered a truce called by militants June 29 that had been fraying in recent weeks with less deadly attacks.

In an immediate response, Israel froze all contacts with the Palestinian Authority, as well as the handover of two West Bank towns, Jericho and Qalqiliya, to Palestinian control. The handover had been expected a couple of days later. Israel also sealed off the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Authority decided to cut all dialogue with Islamic Jihad and Hamas and instead use security forces to take action against the groups, a Palestinian official said.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas had been meeting with Islamic Jihad leaders in the Gaza Strip at the time of the explosion, in a renewed attempt to use persuasion, rather than force, to halt attacks by militants.

The road map plan requires the Palestinian security forces to dismantle militant groups, something Abbas has said he cannot do for fear of setting off internal fighting.

エルサレムではバス爆破テロ

19日、エルサレムで、超正統派のユダヤ教徒の住む地域に向かう、ユダヤ教の礼拝者を乗せたバスが、自爆テロにあった。少なくとも、子供を5人含む20人が死亡した。

Shukan ST: Aug. 29, 2003

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