JERUSALEM — Two explosions in Jerusalem killed one person and wounded at least 13 others during the morning rush hour on Wednesday, in what is suspected to be the first bombing on Israeli civilians in more than six years. five.
The first explosion occurred at a bus stop in northwest Jerusalem at 7:05 a.m., killing one person and injuring 10 others, police said. Half an hour later, another explosion occurred at a bus stop about 2 miles to the north, injuring three others.
Magen David Adom Ambulance Service said two people, aged 16 and 45, were seriously injured in the first blast, which took them and five others to hospitals elsewhere in the city.
This year has been the deadliest year in Israel and the occupied West Bank since 2016.
Nineteen Israelis and foreigners were killed by Arab attackers in five attacks from March to May. That made the Israeli Army intensifying the crackdown on rebels in the West Banklaunched an operation that left more than 100 Palestinians dead and another surge of Palestinian militias — most recently in a settlement in the West Bank where a Palestinian attacker killed three Israelis last week.
Many of the Palestinians killed in the West Bank this year are fighters, but some are civilians. They included a Palestinian-American journalist, Shireen Abu Aklehwho was shot dead in a raid in May, possibly by an Israeli soldier, in a case that Palestinians see as symbolic of their experiences under occupation.
Wednesday’s explosions occurred against the backdrop of the attempt by Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister of Israel, to form a coalition governmentafter his victory in the general election on November 1.
Mr. Netanyahu’s far-right allies, some of whom are likely to assume senior roles in the new government, have focused their election campaign on taking even tougher action. than against Arab violence. One of them, Itamar Ben-Gvirwho has said he wants to be the minister in charge of the police force, has proposed to combat Palestinian violence by giving police officers more freedom to fire on received threats. awake.
A spokesman for Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip, praised Wednesday’s blasts but did not claim responsibility for them.
The group described the explosions as a “heroic operation” in response to Israeli attacks earlier this year at the Aqsa Mosque complex in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The complex has been home to a mosque complex for more than a millennium and is considered one of Islam’s holiest places. Called the Temple Mount by Jews, it is also considered the holiest place in Judaism and the site of two ancient Jewish temples that were central to Jewish religious life.
In recent years, Israeli police have increasingly made it easier for Jews to pray there, angering Muslims and rescinding a decades-old convention allowing Jews to visit without permission. worship.
Violence is on the rise by settlers against the Palestinians on the West Coast has also increased tensions.
Gabby Sobelman contributed reporting from Rehovot, Israel, and Raja Abdulrahim from Jerusalem.
