Eleven people were killed and about 50 others were injured Saturday evening when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Rehavia.
The bombing took place in the popular Moment Cafe, on the corner of Azza and Balfour streets, 100 meters close to the Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's residence. Ariel Sharon was not in the residence at the time of the suicide explosion.
According to Magen David Adom medical emergency workers, 50 people were wounded in the attack, seven of the wounded are in serious condition and four individuals sustained moderate wounds.
Jerusalem Police Chief Mickey Levy said the assailant walked into the cafe and detonated explosives. "This is a very, very serious attack," Levy said.
Security forces have closed off the area of the bombing attack. It is now dead quiet with a few people coming out to see the aftermath of the attack.
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has claimed responsibility for the bombing attack.
The bomb attack took place after a shooting attack in the northern coastal city of Netanya, which killed one Israeli and injured more than 50 people. Three Palestinian gunmen were shot dead in that shooting attack.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed wing of Palestinian mainstream Fatah movement led by Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, has claimed responsibility for the shooting attack.
The attacks took place at a time when people are waiting for renewed US efforts to bring about an Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire after the latest wave of escalating violence in the region.
Israeli prime minister has said he has dropped the previous demand for a seven-day quiet before any talks with the Palestinians.
Israel has already carried out retaliatory attacks against Palestinian targets after the Netanya shooting attack on Saturday night.
(People's Daily March 10, 2002)
