"To our regret, the attackers do not cease coming up with new ways to strike at the heart of the Jewish people here in Jerusalem," said Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, whose daughter was on a bus rammed by the attacker. She was not injured.

Israel called the attack a "senseless act" and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is trying to negotiate a peace accord with Israel, condemned it. In Washington, the White House said President George W. Bush called the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to express his sorrow over the incident.

"I saw people running our way and then the vehicle appeared and it hit us, turning us over," she said from her hospital bed where she was being treated for injuries to her head, legs and back. "People started landing on me and we had to break through the windows to escape. There was blood everywhere. It's a miracle I got out of there."