Explosion reported near Jerusalem bus stop, several injured - The Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Two blasts went disconnected adjacent autobus stops successful Jerusalem astatine the tallness of greeting unreserved hr connected Wednesday, sidesplitting 1 idiosyncratic and injuring astatine slightest 18, successful what constabulary said were suspected attacks by Palestinians.

The archetypal detonation occurred adjacent a autobus halt connected the borderline of the city, wherever commuters usually assemblage waiting for buses. The 2nd went disconnected astir fractional an hr aboriginal successful Ramot, a colony successful the city’s north. Police said 1 idiosyncratic died from their wounds and astatine slightest 3 were earnestly wounded successful the blasts.

Israeli media said the idiosyncratic killed was 16 years old.

The suspected attacks came arsenic Israeli-Palestinian tensions are high, pursuing months of Israeli raids successful the occupied West Bank prompted by a spate of deadly attacks against Israelis that killed 19 people. There has been an uptick successful caller weeks successful Palestinian attacks.

The unit besides comes arsenic former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding conjugation talks aft nationalist elections and is apt to instrumentality to powerfulness arsenic caput of what’s expected to beryllium Israel’s astir right-wing authorities ever.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, an extremist lawmaker who has called for the decease punishment for Palestinian attackers and who is acceptable to go the curate successful complaint of constabulary nether Netanyahu, said the onslaught meant Israel needed to instrumentality a tougher stance connected Palestinian violence.

“We indispensable nonstop a terms from terror,” helium said astatine the country of the archetypal explosion. “We indispensable instrumentality to beryllium successful power of Israel, to reconstruct deterrence against terror.”

Police, who were searching for the suspected attackers, said their archetypal findings showed that shrapnel-laden explosive devices were placed astatine the 2 sites. The duplicate blasts occurred amid the buzz of unreserved hr postulation and constabulary concisely closed portion of a main road starring retired of the city, wherever the fist detonation went off. Video from soon aft the archetypal blast showed debris strewn on the sidewalk arsenic the wail of ambulances blared. A autobus successful Ramot was pocked with what looked similar shrapnel marks.

“It was a brainsick explosion. There is harm everyplace here,” Yosef Haim Gabay, a medic who was astatine the country erstwhile the archetypal blast occurred, told Israeli Army Radio. “I saw radical with wounds bleeding each implicit the place.”

While Palestinians person carried retired stabbings, car rammings and shootings successful caller years, bombing attacks person go precise uncommon since the extremity of a Palestinian uprising astir 2 decades ago.

The U.S. Embassy successful Jerusalem condemned the violence, arsenic did EU Ambassador to Israel Dimiter Tzantchev.

The Islamic militant Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and erstwhile carried retired termination bombings against Israelis, praised the perpetrators of the attacks, calling it a heroic operation, but stopped abbreviated of claiming responsibility.

“The concern is reaping the terms of its crimes and aggression against our people,” Hamas spokesperson Abd al-Latif al-Qanua said.

Israel said that successful effect to the blasts, it was closing 2 West Bank crossings to Palestinians adjacent the West Bank metropolis of Jenin, a militant stronghold.

More than 130 Palestinians person been killed successful Israeli-Palestinian warring successful the West Bank and eastbound Jerusalem this year, making 2022 the deadliest twelvemonth since 2006. The Israeli service says astir of the Palestinians killed person been militants. But stone-throwing youths protesting the subject incursions and others not progressive successful confrontations person besides been killed.

At slightest 7 much Israelis person been killed successful Palestinian attacks successful caller weeks.

The Israeli subject said Wednesday that Palestinian gunmen opened occurrence connected forces escorting worshippers to a flashpoint shrine successful the West Bank metropolis of Nablus overnight. The troops fired backmost and the Palestinian Health Ministry said a 16-year-old was killed successful the incident.

Israel captured the West Bank successful the 1967 Mideast war, on with eastbound Jerusalem and Gaza. The Palestinians question the territories for their hoped-for autarkic state.

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Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Isaac Scharf contributed to this report.