Car Bomb Explodes in West Jerusalem, Killing at Least 2

Car Bomb Blasts West Jerusalem

At least two people were killed and nine others injured when a car bomb went off Thursday afternoon in the Ben-Yehuda open-air market in downtown Jerusalem, Israeli police said.

Police confirmed this was a suicide bombing and the two killed were the bombers.

Police have sealed off the area and the nine who are slightly injured have been taken by ambulances to nearby hospital for treatment.

The explosion took place just as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat are preparing to issue a joint statement on a truce accord reached overnight between Arafat and Israeli Minister of Regional Cooperation Shimon Peres.

Some militant Palestinian groups, including Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Islamic Jihad, have voiced opposition to the ceasefire understanding.

Ben-Yehuda market had been the site of previous bombings, in which a number of Israelis were killed.