The attack apparently was aimed at a bus carrying
schoolchildren from the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom. No
children were killed in the blast, but at least four were
injured.
The bus was being escorted by the Israeli military at the
time of the attack, witnesses said.
The blast came at a time when Palestinian and Israeli leaders
had been making statements aimed at taking the heat out of
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has claimed more than
250 lives in recent weeks.
Violence continued Sunday
Barak said Sunday that Israel didn't want to escalate the
conflict, and therefore was not planning to retaliate for the
shooting death of an Israeli soldier in a Saturday attack on
an Israeli outpost in Gaza.
That gun battle that left one Israeli soldier dead and two
others wounded, one critically.
The lone gunman was identified as Palestinian security
officer Baha Said, a 30-year-old resident of the al-Maghazi
refugee camp. The Fatah Hawks, an armed militia faction of
Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's Fatah
movement, claimed responsibility for Said's actions.
Palestinian leaders had said they were working to implement
Arafat's recent call for an end to shooting from territory
under his control.
But the violence continued Sunday when two Palestinians were
killed and several others injured in a series of clashes with
Israeli soldiers.
Sunday also saw the wounding of Yoram Havivian, Israel's vice
consul general to Amman. Havivan was on his way to work when
gunmen fired at his car from a passing vehicle.
Conflict claims more than 250 lives
He was treated and released from a hospital a few hours
later. Barak said the incident was severe, and that every
effort should be made in conjunction with Jordan to find
those responsible.
Since the violence between the Palestinians and Israelis
erupted September 28, at least 257 people have been killed,
including 219 Palestinians, 25 Jews and 13 Israeli Arabs.
CNN Correspondent Jerrold Kessel contributed to this report.
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