Jerusalem ? A suicide bomber blew himself up on a crowded city bus during morning rush hour today in Jerusalem, killing 14 passengers and wounding at least 40, police and paramedics said.

The blast tore through the city bus just before 8 a.m. (midnight Monday CDT), peeling off its roof and sides. The explosion went off as the bus waited at a traffic light near a busy intersection in southern Jerusalem. Witnesses said many students ride the bus to get to school.

Jerusalem Police Chief Mickey Levy said there were at least 14 dead, and that toll might rise. Paramedics said there were at least 40 wounded, including several passengers in serious and very serious condition.

Yeruham Mendola, spokesman of the Magen David Adom rescue service, did not refer to the number of dead.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and no immediate comment by the Palestinian Authority. Israel held Arafat responsible, saying he has done nothing to rein in militias.

Jerusalem police had been on high alert since Monday after receiving warnings that a suicide bomber was trying to carry out an attack in Jerusalem.

Acting on specific intelligence information, police set up checkpoints throughout the city.

Earlier this week, Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said five Palestinian suicide bombers were trying simultaneously to infiltrate Israel to carry out attacks.

One bomber blew himself up near an Israeli border police patrol Monday, killing himself but causing no other injuries.

David Baker, an official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office, held Arafat’s Palestinian Authority responsible for the latest attack.

“The Palestinian Authority is drenched in terror. This terror has seeped into (Palestinian) society,” Baker said.

At least 1,401 Palestinians and 511 Israelis have been killed since the Palestinian uprising began in September 2000 after peace talks stalled.