21 People Injured) in Qrenade Blast

Two hand grenades exploded outside a shop on Jaffa Road this morning injuring 21 people, one gravely and two others classified as seriously hurt. Most of the victims suffered minor wounds from glass splinters and flying debris. No names were released.

The grenades detonated at 9:40 a.m. local time on Jerusalem’s crowded main shopping street and traffic artery. Two unexploded grenades were found nearby and defused by police. A police spokesman said about 20 persons were detained for questioning after the cordoned-off area was searched for the perpetrators. Police manned roadblocks at all points of exit from the city and Arab cars were searched.

The blast was the second attack on civilians in West Jerusalem since last December when a city bus was ripped apart by an explosion that killed six persons and injured 44. The Palestine Liberation Organization claimed responsibility for that outrage.

Today, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a PLO offshoot which is pro-Soviet and close to Syria, led by Nayef Hawarmeh, claimed responsibility for the grenade attack. Earlier, Dolice said they could not say positively that it was the war of terrorists and were exploring all possibilities.

Eye-witness accounts differed. Some people said the grenades were not noticed until they exploded, indicating that they may have been planted earlier outside the shop, a clothing store owned by Avra-ham Bakak.

Others said the grenades were concealed in c plastic bag thrown at the shop by a passer-by or passing motorist. According to one report, a car bearing West Bank license plates was parked outside the shop before the explosion. The driver of a car and two passengers were among the persons detained by police.