Israel reports alleged Palestinian coordinated attack in Jerusalem as twin blasts kill 1, injures 14

Isreali authorities reported on Wednesday that two bomb blasts rocked different parts of the Jerusalem, killing one and injuring at least 14 people in what Israel says is the first coordinated attack by suspected attacker Palestine in many years.

According to Israeli police, one improvised bomb exploded at a bus stop in in Givat Shaul on the outskirts of the city, while the second went off approximately half an hour later at another bus stop at Ramot Junction near a settlement just outside the city.

One 16 year old was killed and 12 injured in the first explosion and three more were injured in the second. The blasts went off in the morning rush hour, when bus stops were sure to be packed with commuters.

“There has not been such a coordinated attack in Jerusalem for many years,” said Israeli police spokesperson Eli Levi to Army Radio. Deputy Commissioner Sigal Bar Zvi told BBC the bombs were made with “high quality” explosives, and packed inside bags hidden in bushes and behind walls at the bus stops. The bombs contained nails and other projectiles. 

The United Nations as well as the United States, Canada, and the European Union have all condemned what they call terrorist attacks, and Israeli Prime Minister Prime Minister Yair Lapid pledged to “eliminate” those who had carried out Wednesday’s bombings.

“I want to say to the citizens of Israel: We will find them,” he said. “They can run, they can hide – it won’t help them; the security forces will reach them. If they resist, they will be eliminated.”

Thus far no group has claimed responsibility for the bombings.