Thirty people were injured in this morning's incident, none seriously. In another development, Qatar has cut its ties with Israel.
A car bomb exploded in central Jerusalem at 8:57 this morning, at the corner of Heshin and Jaffa streets. This was the second explosion in the area within nine hours. As last night, there were no serious casualties in this morning's incident, but the explosion scattered mortar shells over the area. Police bomb disposal experts are now dealing with the shells, which did not explode. One was found in the Russian compound, and another in Independence Park.
Two people were slightly injured, and 28 are being treated for shock. Central Jerusalem is closed to traffic.
The security cabinet is due to convene this afternoon to discuss Israel's response to the wave of terror attacks in the past few days. Commentators estimate that Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat is attempting to provoke Israel into ending its unilateral cease fire. The Islamic Jihad movement said it was responsible for this morning's attack.
Meanwhile, Qatar has announced that it is cutting its ties with Israel. This is in response to a call to all Islamic countries to take such action from a meeting of their representatives that took place in Qatar.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on May 27, 2001