Car bomb explodes in central Jerusalem

A Subaru burns after it exploded in Jerusalem on Saturday

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A car exploded in central Jerusalem Saturday night, in an area of discotheques and nightclubs called the Russian Compound, police said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, but police said at least three people were taken to a hospital to be treated for shock.

Police sources told CNN an unoccupied Subaru in a parking lot at the entrance to Jerusalem police headquarters that is used as a Palestinian detention center exploded shortly after midnight.

"My God. I was only three meters (10 feet) from it," one man, holding his hands over his ears, told Reuters.

Sources said that the explosion appeared to have been orchestrated in an attempt to hurt young people, who had filled the area but fled when the explosion sent flames into the night sky.

VIDEO A car bomb ripped through a crowded area in central Jerusalem early Saturday night (May 26) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) A car bomb exploded friday evening in a Palestinian refugee camp near Nablus killing one and injuring three (May 26) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     ALSO Muslim states take stand against Israel U.S. envoy to meet with Arafat on Mideast violence

Police searched the area, which gets its name from a nearby Russian Orthodox church, for more explosives.

The weekend explosion follows a day of three car bombings.

Two Palestinian suicide bombers blew themselves up Friday, injuring more than 60 people in the central Israeli town of Hadera. Among the injured were a 10-year-old boy and a 7-month-old baby.

Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for that explosion, saying the blast was to mark the anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon

A few hours earlier, a Palestinian truck driver died in an attack on an Israeli army post in Gaza. Hamas claimed responsibility for that bomb.

After nightfall, an activist with an armed group within Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction was killed and several others seriously wounded when their car exploded in the West Bank town of Nablus.

The Palestinian Authority accused Israel of carrying out an "assassination," having long accused Israel of carrying out execution-style killings of key leaders of their revolt.

The Israeli army said it played no role in the car explosion.

CNN Producer Pierre Klochendler contributed to this report