Two powerful terrorist bombs exploded in Jerusalem today, yet miraculously did not claim any Israeli lives. The first one occurred at 7:40 AM in the Talpiot section of southern Jerusalem; a stolen car was parked on a main street after having been packed with a large amount of explosives, and was detonated as a bus passed it. Four people were lightly wounded. Police spent hours examining the charred remains of the car bomb and attempting to figure out how it was detonated.
Less than six hours later, a bomb exploded at the French Hill (Givah Tzarfatit) junction in northern Jerusalem, wounding close to 30 people. One is reported to be in very serious condition, and the condition of another deteriorated from moderate to serious during the afternoon. The others were lightly wounded. The dead body many eyewitnesses reported seeing at the site was that of the suicide terrorist. He detonated a bomb he was wearing or holding as a bus passed by; the bus was making a right turn towards a bus stop, only meters away, at which many residents of Binyamin-area communities wait for rides.
Arutz-7\'s Ron Meir was less than 200 meters away from the area at the time of the explosion. His report:
\"I was on a bus headed for the French Hill junction bus stop. We had just been delayed for about 2-3 minutes by a woman who, most improbably, asked the driver to wait for her while she parked her car. Just as surprisingly, he actually waited, arousing the impatience of some of the passengers. About a minute and a half before we were to reach our destination, we suddenly heard a tremendous explosion. There was about 15 seconds of eerie silence. Several soldiers asked if there were any medics on board, and they ran towards site of the explosion. Within a very short time, many police cars and ambulances arrived on the scene... Those who before had been impatient began to thank the woman who had delayed them, and she said, \'I was just an agent...\'\"
The bomb contained steel nails, for the purpose of spreading the bomb\'s destructive power as far as the explosion can project them. Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert said earlier in the afternoon that a closed circuit television camera films the major intersection (and 50 others throughout the city) 24 hours a day, on behalf of the Jerusalem Municipality - but it later turned out that the critical minutes before and during the bombing were not filmed.
Last night, yet another terrorist bombing was averted in Petach Tikva when an alert falafel-store owner noticed an abandoned package and called the police; the package in fact contained an explosive, and police detonated it safely.
Less than six hours later, a bomb exploded at the French Hill (Givah Tzarfatit) junction in northern Jerusalem, wounding close to 30 people. One is reported to be in very serious condition, and the condition of another deteriorated from moderate to serious during the afternoon. The others were lightly wounded. The dead body many eyewitnesses reported seeing at the site was that of the suicide terrorist. He detonated a bomb he was wearing or holding as a bus passed by; the bus was making a right turn towards a bus stop, only meters away, at which many residents of Binyamin-area communities wait for rides.
Arutz-7\'s Ron Meir was less than 200 meters away from the area at the time of the explosion. His report:
\"I was on a bus headed for the French Hill junction bus stop. We had just been delayed for about 2-3 minutes by a woman who, most improbably, asked the driver to wait for her while she parked her car. Just as surprisingly, he actually waited, arousing the impatience of some of the passengers. About a minute and a half before we were to reach our destination, we suddenly heard a tremendous explosion. There was about 15 seconds of eerie silence. Several soldiers asked if there were any medics on board, and they ran towards site of the explosion. Within a very short time, many police cars and ambulances arrived on the scene... Those who before had been impatient began to thank the woman who had delayed them, and she said, \'I was just an agent...\'\"
The bomb contained steel nails, for the purpose of spreading the bomb\'s destructive power as far as the explosion can project them. Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert said earlier in the afternoon that a closed circuit television camera films the major intersection (and 50 others throughout the city) 24 hours a day, on behalf of the Jerusalem Municipality - but it later turned out that the critical minutes before and during the bombing were not filmed.
Last night, yet another terrorist bombing was averted in Petach Tikva when an alert falafel-store owner noticed an abandoned package and called the police; the package in fact contained an explosive, and police detonated it safely.