Eleven Israelis were reportedly wounded in a stabbing attack on a Tel Aviv bus Wednesday morning. The assailant was shot by the Israeli police. Three of the victims are in serious condition.
The driver was the first victim of the attack, as he was unable to open the doors of the bus, which was full during the rush hour, according to an eye-witness report. It was one of the passengers who managed to open the doors and let other passengers out, RT reported, citing local media.
The police chased the attacker and shot him, hitting him in the leg, near the scene, on Hamasger Street. Police are investigating the attack, and the area has been closed to traffic.
Police officials said that the suspect was a 23-year-old illegal worker from Tulkarem, a town in the occupied West Bank.
A police spokesperson said there had been no advance warning or threats of a terror attack in Tel Aviv. However, the Israeli police “are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas for the attack.
The attack was “the direct result of the poisonous incitement being disseminated by the Palestinian Authority against the Jews and their state”, he said.
A member of Hamas’ political bureau, Izzat al-Risheq said, “The attack is a natural response to the crimes of the occupation and terrorism against the Palestinian people,” Haaretz reported.
