Suicide bomber injures three

Three people were injured when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up outside a hotel up in central Jerusalem early today.

Police reported that the explosion took place just after 7.35am (0535 GMT) near the David Citadel Hotel, formerly the Hilton, on King David Street.

A police spokesman said the three people who sustained minor injuries were standing at a bus stop when the explosion occurred and were hit by flying debris.

Jerusalem's mayor, Ehud Olmert, confirmed on radio that two government ministers were staying at the hotel.

The explosion follows two days of Israeli military strikes targeting Gaza and the West Bank. Two Palestinians were killed yesterday-in a wave of strikes which hit a security station just yards from an office where Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was working. The violence marked Israel's response to Palestinian suicide attacks that killed 25 people in Jerusalem and Haifa over the weekend.

Palestinians in Gaza City are now bracing themselves for more airstrikes as schools shut down and international aid workers evacuate. The decision to close all schools was announced following the death of Mohammed Abu Marasa, 14, in an Israeli air strike yesterday afternoon inside a residential area.