A car bomb exploded this morning in a popular shopping district in West Jerusalem. No one was injured by the blast, but Israeli police said three people were suffering from shock.
The large bomb, which was packed with assault rifle bullets, set several other vehicles ablaze. It was the first such attack in Israel since the Palestinian leader declared a ceasefire on 18 September. Islamic Jihad said they were responsible for it.
Israel had previously given the Palestinians 48 hours to implement the ceasefire. Yasser Arafat has, however, accused Israel of intensifying the recent violence.
Mr Arafat held talks with Jordan's King Abdullah yesterday on the latest efforts to implement a ceasefire. The King briefed Mr Arafat on his meeting with President Bush. The Palestinian leader also had talks with the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak.
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres, met chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat in an effort to salvage the four-day-old ceasefire. The meeting was described as difficult and achieved little.
