Six people have been killed and eight others injured by Palestinian terrorists in one of the deadliest shooting attacks in Jerusalem in the past few years.
Israeli police said, “Two terrorists arrived in a vehicle” and opened fire towards a bus stop at Ramot Junction, on the city’s northern outskirts. An off-duty soldier and a civilian returned fire, “neutralizing” the attackers.
Israeli media identified the dead as five men, aged between 25 and 79, and a 60-year-old woman. Local hospitals said two of the wounded were in a serious condition.
There was no immediate claim from any armed groups, although Hamas praised the attack.
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Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, during a visit to the scene, noted that the country was in “an intense war against terrorism on several fronts.” Adding that security forces of Israel have frustrated hundreds of strikes in the inhabited West Bank this year, “but, unfortunately, not this morning.”
The Prime Minister further stated that, “We are now engaged in pursuit and are cordoning off the villages from which the murderers came. We will apprehend whoever aided and dispatched them, and we will take even stronger steps.”
The Israeli military said soldiers were encircling Palestinian villages on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah to “scotch terrorism and strengthen the defense effort.”
The strike happened at the end of the morning rush hour at the Ramot Junction.
Spokesman for Israel police Lt. Dean Elsdunne said, “The terrorists arrived by vehicle… and deliberately opened fire on a number of civilians who were waiting at that busy bus stop to start their day.”
Adding that, “A number of armed civilians who were at the scene acted immediately. They engaged by returning fire, and they killed those two terrorists on the spot.”
Lt. Dean Elsdunne further noted that police officers have retrieved “several weapons, ammunition and a knife” used by the attackers, who Israeli media said were believed to have set out from the West Bank villages of al-Qubeiba and Qatanna, about 10 km (6 miles) west of Ramot Junction.
The shooting on Monday happens at an essential time, as the Israeli military escalates its offensive in Gaza City. Concurrently, both Israel and Hamas are reportedly considering new ceasefire and hostage deal proposals presented by the White House.
