Timing of explosion appears accidental

It was so loud it jarred many guests, who peered from their windows to see a depressingly familiar scene: dozens of police cars and ambulances converging to cope with yet another suicide bomber.

"Not a good morning," said one. "It's Jerusalem."

This explosion, however, proved far less lethal than the three attacks over the weekend that killed 26 Israelis and brought Israel to the brink of an all-out war against the Palestinian Authority and its longtime leader, Yassir Arafat.

The bomber had detonated his explosives — apparently by accident — while crossing the busy street in front of the hotel, killing himself instantly. Eleven others at a nearby bus station were slightly wounded.

Although injuries were minimal, the incident showed the relative ease with which suicide bombers can penetrate Israel's defenses, even when security forces are on maximum alert.

The radical group Islamic Jihad said it carried out the attack, claiming it was targeting Israeli ministers staying at the hotel.

The scene was grisly. One of the few guests to leave the hotel before police sealed them inside found the bomber's severed leg in front of the lobby.

The driveway leading to the hotel was littered with body parts of the man who may have been trying to blow them up. Security officials who swept the area found a suspicious device that had to be detonated for fear that it was a second bomb.

The region has been wracked with violence in the 14 months since a renewed Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule began. Shootings, bombings and sabotage have become almost daily occurrences in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The explosion Wednesday happened not far from the Jaffa Gate of the old walled city of Jerusalem, home of many sites holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians. U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni is staying at the nearby King David Hotel while attempting to revive the shattered peace process.

Security personnel kept David Citadel guests inside the building for several hours after the blast while bomb-sniffing dogs patrolled the area, paying particular attention to parked cars. Police forensics experts combed the grounds looking for evidence.

Police also said the bomber might have been walking to the crowded downtown area, just several blocks away, which had been hit by two bombers on Saturday. The attack Wednesday marked the fourth suicide bombing inside Israel in just five days.

"This is yet another example of the Palestinian determination to use terrorism and to inflict heavy damage on the Israeli population," said Emmanuel Nahshon, a Foreign Ministry spokesman at the scene.

He called on Arafat to act decisively against the terrorists by arresting the real leaders and keeping them in prison. Nahshon said Israel is prepared to take action if Arafat does not.

Foreign Miniser Shimon Peres said Wednesday night that Arafat was being given 12 hours to make arrests or face more military reprisals against Palestinian Authority facilities in the occupied territories.

Arafat's security forces have arrested more than 110 suspects in recent days. Also on Wednesday night, they placed the founder of the radical Hamas movement, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, under house arrest in Gaza. Hamas claimed responsibility for weekend suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Haifa.

Palestinian leaders condemned Wednesday's attack and said it was hurting their cause.

Jerusalem Police Chief Mickey Levy said after the blast that the explosives had been packed with nails and bolts, a technique similar to the one used by the bombers that caused such carnage in Jerusalem on Saturday. He said the bomb was extremely powerful and could have caused high casualties if it had exploded in a crowded area.

Levy told Israel Radio that he had been in the vicinity of the hotel before the explosion because he was on his way there for a meeting with Uzi Landau, the minister of Internal Security, who was a guest there.

Officials indicated that the bomber who died was a man in his 40s thought to have come from the Bethlehem area.

Even before the explosion, which left blood on the front of the elegant facade of the David Citadel, tourist-related businesses were suffering a catastrophic drop in business at a time of year that is usually booming because of the Hanukkah and Christmas celebrations that draw people to the Holy Land.

At the David Citadel, for example, there were only 42 guests in the 381-room hotel. Most shops in the hotel have been shuttered. Those still open report only a trickle of visitors.

"Customers? What customers?" said Yaakov Kessler, who runs the hotel business center that provides Internet access to guests. "I've had five customers in four days.

"All of the businesses here have been destroyed."

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