Eyewitness to Jerusalem bombing

The restaurant was in the busiest area in Jerusalem

By Nick Childs in Jerusalem

Soon after the explosion, the area was teeming with police and other emergency services.

The restaurant, the target of the attack, was on the corner of two of the busiest streets in Jerusalem.

Its entire front was blown out, debris and sheets of shattered glass were strewn across the roads in all directions.

Children were among the victims

The emergency services began a clean-up operation, sifting through the wreckage in the restaurant itself. They were no doubt looking for clues as to the bombing, but also perhaps as to whether there were any casualties still left inside.

Later, working under spotlights, religious volunteers began going through the gruesome task of collecting body parts of the victims, as required by religious practice here.

Behind the police cordons, crowds of Israelis gathered, most of them with anxious expressions on their faces, but there were also demonstrations further up the street from angry Israelis, members of right-wing parties, who called for a very tough response from the Israeli Government.

The Mayor of Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert, was at the scene. He said it was the worst of attacks, a very terrible event, but at the same time he told me that the Israeli Government shouldn't panic, that Israel was not waging war against the Palestinian people.

However, he did say those who are responsible for the attack should be made to pay.