Terrorist Bombings in My Son and Grandchildren's Neighborhood In Jerusalem
A student was killed and at least 18 others injured after explosions went off at two bus stops in Jerusalem at the height of the morning rush hour, in what Israeli security forces are treating as a “combined terror attack.”
The twin blasts come amid a surge in violence between Israelis and Palestinians this year, and there are fears it could represent a return to the terrorist bombing campaigns of 20 years ago.
The first explosion occurred at around 7:05 a.m. local time, near a bus station located at the exit from the city. Half an hour later, another blast went off at a bus station near the Ramot Junction just over two miles away. Both bus stops were packed with students.
The first blast killed Aryeh Shechopek, a 16-year-old Canadian-Israeli yeshiva student who lived in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem (My son and grandchildren's neighborhood.)
Israel’s emergency ambulance service, known as Magen David Adom, i.e. Red Star of David, said that four of the injured were in serious condition.
Israeli police said that the bombs at both sites were activated remotely by cellphone. It said that the explosives were placed in bags and contained nails and pieces of metals to maximize the impact.
More than 5,000 Israeli security officers were deployed throughout Jerusalem in the wake of the blasts, some searching other bus stops for additional planted explosives.
The incident recalled the second intifada of the early 2000s, during which Hamas, the Palestinian radical Islamist group, orchestrated a wave of bombings across Israel.
“This is a complex combined attack in two arenas, which appears to be the result of an organized infrastructure, and not a spontaneous act as we have come to know in recent years,” said Israeli Public Security Minister Omer Bar Lev on Wednesday morning after visiting the two explosion sites.
The bombings are a departure from the lower tech, more lone wolf-style attacks with which Israel has more recently been grappling. Since last spring, a string of Palestinian stabbings, shootings and car rammings have put Israel on high alert.
Terrorist Bombings in My Son and Grandchildren's Neighborhood In Jerusalem
A student was killed and at least 18 others injured after explosions went off at two bus stops in Jerusalem at the height of the morning rush hour, in what Israeli security forces are treating as a “combined terror attack.”
The twin blasts come amid a surge in violence between Israelis and Palestinians this year, and there are fears it could represent a return to the terrorist bombing campaigns of 20 years ago.
The first explosion occurred at around 7:05 a.m. local time, near a bus station located at the exit from the city. Half an hour later, another blast went off at a bus station near the Ramot Junction just over two miles away. Both bus stops were packed with students.
The first blast killed Aryeh Shechopek, a 16-year-old Canadian-Israeli yeshiva student who lived in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem (My son and grandchildren's neighborhood.)
Israel’s emergency ambulance service, known as Magen David Adom, i.e. Red Star of David, said that four of the injured were in serious condition.
Israeli police said that the bombs at both sites were activated remotely by cellphone. It said that the explosives were placed in bags and contained nails and pieces of metals to maximize the impact.
More than 5,000 Israeli security officers were deployed throughout Jerusalem in the wake of the blasts, some searching other bus stops for additional planted explosives.
The incident recalled the second intifada of the early 2000s, during which Hamas, the Palestinian radical Islamist group, orchestrated a wave of bombings across Israel.
“This is a complex combined attack in two arenas, which appears to be the result of an organized infrastructure, and not a spontaneous act as we have come to know in recent years,” said Israeli Public Security Minister Omer Bar Lev on Wednesday morning after visiting the two explosion sites.
The bombings are a departure from the lower tech, more lone wolf-style attacks with which Israel has more recently been grappling. Since last spring, a string of Palestinian stabbings, shootings and car rammings have put Israel on high alert.