HIGHLIGHTS: Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Claims Responsibility||Toppling Arafat Expected to Be Israel's Coming Response||Bush Postpones Announcing Plan for Palestinian Statehood And Powell's Planned Mideast Trip also Put on Hold|| STORY: A Palestinian bomber jumped out of a car, dashed past two policemen and ran to a bus stop before blowing himself up and killing at least seven other people Wednesday evening. More than 35 people were wounded.

The blast - the second in Jerusalem in two days - was claimed by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, according to the Al Manar television station in Lebanon. The Islamic group Hezbollah runs the station.

The bombing came hours after an Israeli announcement it would gradually reoccupy Palestinian areas until terrorism stops.

The Israeli decision, seen by some as another step toward toppling Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his Palestinian Authority, was a response to a suicide bomb attack that killed 19 Israelis on a bus Tuesday. Hamas claimed credit for Tuesday's attack.

President Bush decided to hold off revealing his plan for Palestinian statehood. Administration officials said a presidential announcement at this sensitive stage in the Arab-Israeli conflict would be unlikely to have a positive impact.

A trip to the Middle East next week by Secretary of State Colin Powell was also put on hold, though it remains under future consideration. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon adamantly opposes any form of Palestinian statehood at this time, and blames Arafat for failing to stop the attacks.

The explosion in the French Hill neighborhood blew out the back and the sides of the shelter, leaving just a concrete bench and the roof.

Seven people and the bomber were killed, said Jerusalem police chief Mickey Levy. More than 35 were wounded, several critically, rescue workers told occupation army radio. Among the injured was an officer who was chasing the bomber, Levy said.

The blast occurred in a part of the city that Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war, and which Palestinians claim for a future state.

PHOTO CAPTION

Israeli bomb disposal experts work at the scene of the Palestinian Resistance bombing in Jerusalem, Wednesday, June 19, 2002. A bomber emerged from a car and detonated explosives at a bus stop on Wednesday evening, killing at least three people and injuring more than 35, according to Israeli media reports and police. (AP Photo/Enric Marti)