Beersheva (Israel): At least 12 people were killed and over 80 wounded today (Aug 31, 2004) in simultaneous explosions on two buses carried out by suspected Palestinian suicide bombers in the first terror strike in this southern Israeli city, 15 kms from the West Bank.

The buses blew up around 2:50 pm local time at the heart of the city, witnesses said.

The attack came hours after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon presented the Knesset faction of his Likud party with a timetable for the approval of his disengagement plan calling for withdrawal from Gaza and warned party rebels that the plan "will be implemented, period."

Hospital and rescue officials said that at least 12 people were killed and more than 80 wounded, some of them seriously, in the blasts blamed by police on Palestinian suicide bombers.

Rescue officials were trying to put the flames off from a bus when the glass from the windows of the second one were splashed around the site. The police has cordoned off the area.

The buses were full of parents and children shopping for educational items on the final day of the school holidays in the country, witnesses said.

Minister for Internal Security Tzachi Hanegbi told reporters in Beersheva "where there is a fence there is no terror and where there is no fence there is terror. This is what we have learnt from the last six months."

The minister said he will ask the Government to construct a fence in areas bordering Beersheva also.

Police Chief Moshe Karadi said they are still investigating and "we don't know yet the identity of terrorists."

He also called for construction of fence in this area and said more police will be deployed when schools open tomorrow.

An eyewitness, Doron, said, "There was a foul smell of burnt human flesh soon after the blasts. The incident now exposes the whole of Israel to such attacks as this southern city was considered safe in view of the large presence of the minority community around."

Another witness, Miriam, working for the Beersheva municipality close to the site of the blasts, said, "A silence prevailed before screams could be heard and the rescue workers reached the place with sirens of ambulances."