Bomb Explodes on Bat Yam Bus; One Wounded
Police officer wounded as explosive device he was defusing detonates. Bus driver's quick thinking prevents greater casualties.-By David Lev-First Publish: 12/22/2013, 3:25 PM-Israelnationalnews
Scene of the blast-Israel Police
A bomb exploded on a
bus in
Bat Yam Sunday afternoon. No passengers were reported injured, but one
police officer with the bomb squad was injured as he attempted to disarm
the device.According to reports, passengers noticed a suspicious
object
on the bus and reported it to the driver, who quickly removed all
passengers from the bus. The bomb squad officer got on the bus
to disarm the device, but it exploded as he approached it. Paramedics
and emergency personnel provided first aid to the lightly injured
officer.Police are on the scene
investigating
the incident. A spokesperson for the Dan Bus Company said that there
twelve passengers on the bus when a passenger alerted the driver that
there was a suspicious object on board. The object
was in a bag, which one of the passengers opened. Noticing there were
wires coming out of the bag, the passenger alerted the driver, who
immediately evacuated the passengers.“The driver showed great alacrity
in removing the passengers. He left the bus last, and seconds after he
stepped off the bus the bomb went off,” the Dan spokesperson said.A
preliminary
police investigation indicates the placement of the bomb was a terrorist act.
JERUSALEM
(AP) — A small bomb exploded on board a bus in central Israel just
moments after it had been evacuated on Sunday, police said, adding that
an initial investigation suggests that Palestinian militants were behind
the attack.Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said there were no injuries in the blast, which took place in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam.She said the bomb was discovered in a bag on the bus. The driver
quickly ordered everyone to get off the bus, and the bomb exploded
seconds later, she said.She said the bombing "appeared" to have been carried out by
Palestinian militants. Although Bat Yam has experienced criminal
infighting in the past, she said the explosion did not appear to be
connected. She declined to elaborate because the investigation was in
its early stages.If confirmed to be the work of Palestinian militants, it would be the
first such attack inside Israel since a bomb explosion wounded more
than 20 people in Tel Aviv in November 2012. At the time, Israel was
involved in heavy fighting with Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.A decade ago, Israel experienced a rash of Palestinian suicide
bombings on buses, in restaurants and in other public spaces. More than
3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis died in several years of fighting.
But tensions have subsided in recent years. The neighboring West
Bank, however, has seen a recent uptick in Israeli-Palestinian violence,
thought senior Israeli officials believe the various incidents there
have not been connected to each other.
