Car rams into Jerusalem-area bus stop, killing two
A chaotic scene on the outskirts of Jerusalem, as paramedics rushed to rescue people after a driver rammed into them at a bus stop on Friday. At least two Israelis, including a six-year-old boy, were killed. Several others were injured, some critically. Moments later, Israeli police surrounded the car and shot the driver, who officials say was a 31-year-old Palestinian man. Eli Behr is one of the paramedics who rushed to the scene. Volunteers of UNEDAD cellar, when we responded, we saw children underneath the car. The incident was condemned as a terrorist attack by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who ordered security forces to be reinforced.
His far-right National Security Minister, Edamar Ben Gavir, said he had ordered police to prepare on Sunday operations against what he described as terrorist hotbeds in East Jerusalem. The U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs condemned the attack and said it was working with both sides to prevent escalation. The incident comes amid a period of rising anxiety over security and heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions. Last month, a lone Palestinian gunman killed seven people outside of a synagogue. Security forces have carried out hundreds of arrests over recent months during near-daily raids in the occupied West Bank that have seen bloody gun battles with Palestinian militants.
At least 42 Palestinians, including gunmen and civilians, have been killed this year. A spokesman for Hamas praised Friday's attack as a heroic operation but did not claim responsibility.
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