A bomb blew up a commuter bus during morning rush hour Wednesday near the northern port city of Haifa, killing at least five people and injuring 20 others, police officials said.
Police officials told The Associated Press they believed a suicide bomber blew up the bus. A spokesman in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office confirmed that authorities believed the blast was caused by a Palestinian suicide bomber.
``Apparently the Palestinian terrorists' appetite for terror has yet to be quenched,'' said spokesman David Baker.
One witness, identified only by his first name, Motti, told Israel Radio he was driving about 60 feet behind the bus when he heard the explosion and saw the bus fly six to ten feet into the air.
``It's a catastrophe. Shrapnel and bits are everywhere,'' he said.
``I felt a huge blast,'' taxi driver Yitzhak Rottman told Israel Radio. ``I am afraid to say the sight is awful.''
Police officials told the AP that five people were killed and 20 were wounded.
On Tuesday, Palestinians ambushed Israeli troops in the cramped quarters of a West Bank refugee camp, setting off a suicide bomb trap in a narrow alley and firing on soldiers in a courtyard, the military said. Thirteen Israelis were killed, the biggest blow to the army in its West Bank offensive.
(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2002)
