HADERA, Israel — A suicide car bombing destroyed a bus at the Karkur Junction on Monday, about five miles from Hadera in northern Israel, killing at least 14 passengers and wounding more than 40 people. Two bombers also died.
The militant Islamic Jihad movement claimed responsibility for the attack, which the Palestinian Authority condemned.
The bombing was the most deadly suicide attack since early August. A smaller attack a month ago prompted Israel to surround and destroy much of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s headquarters. That military action was sharply criticized by the Bush administration, which is worried about the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on its ability to build a coalition against Iraq. It was unclear how Israel would respond this time.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer condemned Monday’s bombing.
Bus 841 was on its way from Kiryat Shemona to Tel Aviv when it stopped at the Karkur Junction at 4:23 p.m. A passenger got on and spoke to driver Chaim Avraham, but before he could answer, a Kia jeep loaded with an estimated 175 pounds of explosives rammed the back of the bus, causing an explosion.
Lightly wounded passengers, bystanders and soldiers from a nearby base began to evacuate the wounded, but the bus quickly caught fire. The fire’s heat caused ammunition that soldiers on the bus were carrying to explode and prevented rescue workers from boarding the bus for 30 minutes.
Hadera is about halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa. The area around the coastal city has seen many Palestinian bombings, with terrorists crossing over from the northern West Bank, less than a half-hour’s drive away. Police think the explosives-laden car came from the West Bank city of Jenin.
The attack came two days before Assistant Secretary of State William Burns was due to visit Israel as part of a tour of Middle East nations.
Israel recently has attacked the Gaza Strip repeatedly, targeting Palestinian militants. Bystanders, including children, have been killed and wounded. The Bush administration has urged Israel to be more cautious.