Bomb rocks Jerusalem bus stop, killing woman

A bomb struck a crowded bus stop in central Jerusalem this morning, killing one woman and wounding more than 20 other people.

Authorities say it was the first major Palestinian militant attack in the city in several years.

The bombing brought back memories of the second Palestinian uprising last decade, a period in which hundreds of Israelis were killed by suicide bombings in Jerusalem and other major cities.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but authorities blamed Palestinian militants and threatened harsh retaliation. The attack came against the backdrop of a rising wave of violence that has threatened a lengthy period of relative calm, and made hopes for a negotiated peace ever more distant. The moderate Palestinian government in the West Bank condemned the violence.

The 3pm bombing occurred near the main entrance to Jerusalem, next to the city's central bus station and main convention centre, an area that is crowded with travellers and passers-by.

The bomb went off next to a food stand called, in a Hebrew play on words, "a blast of a kiosk." The owner said the name was to remember an earlier attack at the same site.

The blast reverberated throughout Jerusalem and blew out the windows of two crowded buses. Rescuers removed bloodied people from the area on stretchers, as sirens from speeding ambulances wailed in the background.

Authorities said a 60-year-old woman was killed, while two dozen other people were hurt, several critically.

Jerusalem's mayor, Nir Barkat, rushed to the scene and urged people to return to their routines. "We will show the terrorists we are not terrorized," he said.

Tensions have been rising in recent weeks, particularly along Israel's southern border with the Gaza Strip. Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, has been firing rockets and mortar shells across the border, and Israel retaliating with airstrikes and other attacks.

In fresh violence on Wednesday, two rockets landed in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, moderately wounding one man, and mortar shells struck southern Israel.

Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak threatened retaliation against Hamas.

"We will not tolerate the harming of Israeli citizens, not in the south and not in Jerusalem," Barak said. "Hamas is responsible for the firing of rockets toward Beersheba today and this responsibility has a price."

Earlier this month, five members of a Jewish settler family were stabbed to death in their sleep at their West Bank home. And on Tuesday, an errant Israeli strike meant for Palestinian militants killed four members of a Palestinian family in Gaza.

The attack drew international condemnations as well. In Washington, President Barack Obama offered condolences and called on those responsible to end such attacks.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called it "unacceptable."

- AP