16 Wounded In Jerusalem Bus Bomb Attack

Jerusalem: A bomb blew up a bus and set fire to another in Jerusalem on Monday, wounding 16 people in an attack that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu linked to a six-month-old wave of Palestinian street violence.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility from any Palestinian factions for the blast. Israeli officials declined to assign direct blame. They said two of the casualties had not yet been identified and they may have been bombers. Suicide bombings on Israeli buses were a hallmark of the Palestinian revolt of 2000-2005 but have been rare since. With Palestinians carrying out less organized stabbing, car-ramming and gun attacks since October, Israel has been braced for an escalation.

Initially Jerusalem Police caused some confusion by backtracking on their initial declaration according to which the blast was a terror attack, before later re-clarifying that an explosive had indeed been planted on the bus, causing the blast. The police hesitation was cleared up by the director of the emergency care unit at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem where the wounded were treated, who estimated that it was indeed an attack. “Some of the wounds of the victims who arrived to us are from nails and bolts that penetrated their bodies. It gives the impression of wounds from a terror attack,” determined the doctor.

Jerusalem district police initially confirmed that the 12 line bus was targeted, and said it was hit by an explosive or suicide bomber who detonated inside the bus. An initial investigation found that in the incident a bus empty of passengers exploded, and an adjacent bus with passengers on board as well as a private car took the impact, with the injuries occurring on the second bus and car.