JERUSALEM, Sept. 8 — At least five people were killed on Monday when two gunmen opened fire on a bus near a busy junction, Israeli authorities said. Police said security personnel and a civilian returned fire shortly after the shooting began, killing the attackers.
Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service said the fatalities included a woman and four men. Hospitals in Jerusalem, where the injured were taken, reported that at least seven people were seriously injured, two moderately injured, and three sustained minor injuries.
The attack took place at Ramot Junction, near Ramot, a settlement neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
Israel’s state-owned Kan TV News reported that the assailants, armed with a handgun and an improvised submachine gun, opened fire after boarding a bus.
Citing Israeli security officials, the broadcaster said the attackers were Palestinians from the villages of Qatanna and Al-Qubeiba in the Ramallah Governorate of the occupied West Bank.
Footage from the scene showed two buses with shattered windows and bullet holes. Dozens were seen fleeing a crowded bus stop during the morning rush hour. First responders described a chaotic scene strewn with broken glass.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he was holding “a situation assessment with senior security officials following the attack in Jerusalem.”
Israeli troops have been deployed to the area and are “searching for suspects in cooperation with the Israel Police,” the military said, adding that forces were surrounding several areas on the outskirts of Ramallah.
The attack comes amid a nearly two-year Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has coincided with an escalation of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, as well as a rise in Palestinian attacks against Israelis. (Xinhua)
