Bombers Strike Tel Aviv Bus Stop, Jerusalem Cafe

An attack on a bus stop located near an Israeli military base in a suburb of Tel Aviv killed at least seven people and wounded more than a dozen others. A second attack, occurring hours later, reportedly killed three people and wounded 40 more.

The Palestinian militant Islamic group Hamas took responsibility for both attacks in a statement delivered to Al Jazeera television, according to Reuters news agency.

The bus stop, described as a large bus transfer point, is located near the Tsrifin army base and the Assaf Harofeh Hospital in the town of Rishon Letzion, the Associated Press reported.

The explosion took place during the afternoon rush hour when the bus stop was crowded with people, many of them soldiers from the nearby army base.

Rescue efforts were hampered by the gridlock of rush hour traffic, the Washington Post reported.

The bomber was dressed as an Israeli soldier, Israeli television reported.

The site of the second bombing — Hillel café — is located in Jewish west Jerusalem, according to Reuters news service.

“A suicide bomber entered the cafe and detonated his explosives,” Jerusalem police chief Mickey Levy told Reuters. “Two guards were stationed at the cafe, one at the entrance and one inside.”

“Apparently the guard at the entrance saw him and tried to stop him from going in. But he got inside and there was a powerful explosion,” Levy said.

The Israeli government said the attacks reveal the Palestinian government’s lack of commitment to the peace process.

“The Palestinian Authority is doing absolutely nothing to dismantle its terrorist infrastructure,” said David Baker, an official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office. “This inaction is a direct cause of the terror activity against Israel.”

The last such suicide attack in Israel took place on Aug. 19 when a bomber killed 22 people on a Jerusalem bus. Hamas and Islamic Jihad both claimed responsibility for that attack.

Since the August attack, Israeli forces have killed 12 Hamas leaders, Reuters reported.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli forces killed two Hamas members and a 12-year-old boy in an attack in Hebron.

The latest suicide bombings came two days after the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, who said he quit over clashes with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and because Israel failed to meet its obligations under the internationally backed “road map” to peace.

Arafat has named the speaker of the Palestinian Parliament, Ahmed Qurei, to replace Abbas. Qurei has said he will only take the job if fully supported by Arafat and the United States. Qurei has called for the renewal of a cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militant groups that ended in late August when the latest cycle of violence erupted.

“We condemn all acts of killing that target innocents, whether they be Palestinians … or the Israelis who were victims of today’s explosion,” Qurei said Tuesday in a statement. “Such incidents confirm the necessity for both the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to … examine the most effective ways to put an end to the killing.”

The prime minister nominee earlier said Israel must stop military action against Palestinians and not restrict the movements of Arafat and other Palestinian leaders.

“I have told the Americans, Arabs, Russians … everybody, that this situation cannot continue. I will not be under the Israeli dictate — ‘do this and don’t do that’,” Qurei said, according to Reuters.