Jerusalem suicide bomber kills at least six

At least six people were killed today when a suicide bomber blew herself up by a bus stop in central Jerusalem. A further 84 people were wounded by the explosion.

The bomb went off at a bus stop on Jaffa road near Jerusalem's outdoor market, police said. The market has been the scene of frequent suicide bombings in the past.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade has claimed responsibility for the bombing. It is believed that the suicide bomber was a young Palestinian woman.

The explosion happened shortly after 4pm, at a time when the Mahane Yehuda market is crowded with shoppers hunting for pre-Sabbath bargains.

Jerusalem's police chief, Mickey Levy, said the bomber failed to reach the heart of the market or get onto a bus because of tight security. "Thus he exploded himself as he was trying to get on bus," he said.

David Baker, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, said that the blast was "another murderous attack by Palestinian terrorists against innocent Israelis at the busiest time of the week in the busiest market in Jerusalem".

The US president, George Bush, said that the secretary of state Colin Powell's peace mission in the region will continue. "The president condemns this morning's bombing in Jerusalem," said a Whitehouse spokesman.

"The president will not be deterred from seeking peace despite this attack. There are people who don't want peace. The president wants peace and he will contine every effort to seek peace." Mr Powell's meeting with Yasser Arafat is to go ahead tomorrow as planned.

Earlier today, the Israeli army admitted that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed or wounded during fighting in the refugee camp in the West Bank town of Jenin.

The army's chief spokesman, Brigadier General Ron Kitrey, told Army Radio that there were "apparently hundreds of dead", a statement that appeared to dramatically raise the political pressure on Israel.

But the Israel defence forces later issued a statement that it "wished to clarify that comments made this morning regarding Jenin refer to casualties - those killed and wounded".

An army spokeswoman said Bgdr Gen Kitrey had misspoken and had meant to say "casualties" instead of "dead".

The Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank has been the scene of the heaviest fighting since Israel launched its military offensive following a series of suicide attacks.

It has rounded up thousands of people in what it says is a hunt for militants. At least 22 Israeli soldiers have also been killed.

But there is rising concern over Palestinian accusations that the Israeli military is trying to hide the scope and the nature of the deaths in the Jenin refugee camp.

The Palestinians have alleged that Israel massacred civilians in the camp and used a bulldozer to push the bodies into a mass grave - charges vehemently denied by Israel.

The Palestinian cabinet minister, Saeb Erekat, repeated accusations that the Israelis - by saying they would bury the bodies of dead Palestinian militants - were trying to cover up the killing of civilians.

"They want to hide their crimes, the bodies of the little children and women," Mr Erekat said, adding that the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, should visit the Jenin camp and witness what he described as "war crimes".

The Israeli army said that 4,185 Palestinians had been detained across the West Bank since the operation began two weeks ago. And there remains little sign that Israeli is prepared to meet US administration's demand for a pullback of tanks and troops.

The Israeli army said that it had pulled out of 24 Palestinian villages. But troops also launched fresh raids into two West Bank towns and a refugee camp. It then pulled out of the university town of Bir Zeit after detaining around 300 students and others.

Palestinian officials called the partial withdrawal a publicity stunt, and Mr Powell said the moves were inadequate.

Israeli troops have occupied most of the West Bank's major cities, and officials have not said when the operation would end. They occupy Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin and Bethlehem, where a standoff between soldiers and armed Palestinians continues at the Church of the Nativity.

Meanwhile, the conflict appeared to be spreading as Israeli warplanes blasted suspected guerrilla hideouts in southern Lebanon after Hizbollah fighters attacked Israeli outposts in the disputed border area.

Israeli artillery shelled suspected guerrilla positions nearby. Hizbollah guerrillas said their mortar shells and rockets scored direct hits.