By Eretz Staff T he weekend in Israel was dominated by the Thursday night collapse of a wedding hall in a Jerusalem building. Twenty-four persons died and over 350 were injured. Victims of the disaster were memorialized in a service next to the collapsed building Saturday evening. The Bush Administration is sending its new Middle East emissary to meetings Sunday with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. A car exploded late Saturday night in an area of Jerusalem that has a number of bars and restaurants.
Police say no one was believed injured in the explosion.
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the suicide car bombing in Hadera Friday that killed the two terrorists in the exploding vehicle and injured 40 Israelis. The terrorists drove their explosive laden car into a bus and detonated the charges. In sports news, an unruly crowd of soccer fans stormed onto the playing field at the end of the Maccabi Haifa-Tel Aviv game Saturday night, injuring nearly 40 persons. Reportedly, many of those hurt were children. Shekel trading closed last week on a strong note.