Jerusalem bus stop blasts kill Yeshiva student and wound 23
Two blasts have gone off near bus stops in Jerusalem, killing a student and injuring at least 23 people in what police say are suspected attacks by Palestinians.
Israeli police inspect the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Nov. 23 Photo: Maya Alleruzzo/AP
One of Tuesday’s blasts went off near a bus stop on the edge of the city, where commuters usually crowd waiting for buses.
TPS reports the person killed in this morning’s Jerusalem bombings was identified as Aryeh Shechopek, yeshiva student who lived in Jerusalem’s Har Nof neighborhood and studied at Moshav Beit Meir.
Shechopek’s nationality has not been disclosed.
Another 23 people were injured when a pair of bombs blew up within minutes of each other at bus stops near the entrance to Jerusalem. One detonated near the Central Bus Station, the other at a bus stop by the Ramot Junction known by locals as the “Trempiada.”
Six of the victims are being treated at the Shaarei Zedek Medical Center. A hospital spokesperson said two were in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, two were in critical but stable condition and two were in moderate condition.
Eleven other victims with minor injuries were evacuated to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. A hospital spokesperson said they ranged in age from 15-55.
Security personnel are searching the area around the city entrance for other possible bombs, creating traffic disruptions. Authorities have asked drivers to avoid the western entrance to Jerusalem.
“The main effort of the Israel Police is currently scanning all areas – bus stops, transportation and crowd gatherings, in parallel with the effort of the pursuit in order to get hold of the perpetrator of the attack,” said Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai. “We will do everything in our power together with all the other security forces to get to t
AAP reports the apparent attacks came as Israeli-Palestinian tensions are high, following months of Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank prompted by a spate of deadly attacks against Israelis that killed 19 people. There has been an uptick in recent weeks in Palestinian attacks.
The violence also comes as former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding coalition talks after national elections and is likely to form what’s expected to be Israel’s most right-wing government.
Police said the twin blasts occurred amid the buzz of rush hour traffic and they closed part of a main highway leading out of the city, where the fist explosion went off.
“It was a crazy explosion. There is damage everywhere here, ” Yosef Haim Gabay, a medic who was at the scene when blast occurred, told Israeli Army Radio. “I saw people with wounds bleeding all over the place.”
While Palestinians have carried out stabbings, car rammings and shootings in recent years, bombing attacks have become very rare since the end of a Palestinian uprising nearly two decades ago.
The Islamic militant Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and once carried out suicide bombings against Israelis, praised the perpetrators of the attacks, calling it a heroic operation, but stopped short of claiming responsibility.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, an extremist MP who has called for the death penalty for Palestinian attackers and who is set to become the minister in charge of police under Netanyahu, said the attack gave him impetus to take a tougher stance on Palestinian attackers.
“It’s time to take a hard line against terrorists, it’s time to make order,” he tweeted.
More than 130 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, making 2022 the deadliest year since 2006.
At least five more Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks in recent weeks.
AAP
