Bomb Kills 7 in Jerusalem; Hamas Claims Responsibility
A bomb believed planted by a Palestinian group exploded in a crowded lunchtime cafeteria at Hebrew University in Jerusalem today, killing at least seven people, the Israeli police said. About 80 people were injured, 14 of them seriously.

The blast ripped through the Frank Sinatra cafeteria, and although classes are not in session, many students are taking exams and the room was busy.

Later the militant Islamist group Hamas claimed responsibility for the blast, saying it was in revenge for an Israeli air raid on Gaza City last week that killed a Hamas leader and 14 other people, including 9 children.

"It's a part of a series of responses that will take a long time and teach all Israelis," the group said in a statement faxed to news agencies.

A Jerusalem police spokesman, Kobi Zrihen, said: "We have not found a body that would match the description of a suicide bomber. It is therefore a bomb attack."

Police officials called the explosion a Palestinian attack but stopped short of attributing the blast to a suicide bomber.

The police said they thought the bomb was inside a backpack left in the cafeteria, John Kifner, a New York Times correspondent in Jerusalem, reported from the scene.

The bombing was condemned by the Palestinian Authority. But in a statement, the Authority, led by Yasir Arafat, said it considered the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, "as being responsible for this cycle of terror," including the Gaza raid.

President Bush condemned the attack as "a horrific act of terror," the White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer, said. "This terrorist attack underscores again the need for the Palestinian people and the Palestinian leadership to take action to halt terrorism so that peace has a chance in the Middle East," he added.

Most of the students at the Hebrew University are Jewish, though a large number are Arabs. Israel's Channel 2 television said Arab students were believed to be among the casualties, The Associated Press reported.

It was the second bombing attack in Jerusalem in two days. On Tuesday, in the first such attack in the city in more than a month, a 17-year-old Palestinian blew himself up at a falafel stand, killing himself and wounding five other people.

The bomber managed to evade security guards posted around the campus, even though Israel is on full alert for terror attacks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/31/international/middleeast/31CND-MIDE.html