Gas blast rattles east Jerusalem

The blast wrecked a fruit and vegetable store

A gas explosion has seriously injured three people at a shop just outside the Old City in Arab east Jerusalem.

Three other people received lighter injuries in the late-evening explosion which blew away the front of a convenience store opposite a taxi rank.

Israeli police bomb experts confirmed the blast had been caused by a build-up of gas underneath the shop.

Rescuers rushed to the scene amid fears of a bomb though such attacks generally occur in the Jewish west of the city.

Sappers established the blast had not been caused by a bomb "but rather due to a concentration of gases" which had ignited, a police spokesman said.

The source of the gases was not immediately clear.

The blast occurred near Damascus Gate, one of several entrances to the walled Old City.

The spot near a bus station is one of the busiest parts of the city, the BBC's James Reynolds reported from the scene.