Wed 23 November 2022:
According to Israeli authorities, two separate explosions that shook Jerusalem city resulted in at least one fatality and 12 injuries.
The assaults on Wednesday morning are thought to be Palestinian attacks, according to Israeli police.
A 16-year-old Palestinian teen was slain by Israeli forces in the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank just hours prior to the explosions, according to Palestinian officials.
The first explosion took place at about 7am (04:00 GMT) near an Israeli bus station along a highway on the western entrance into Jerusalem that is usually packed with commuters.
Seven people were injured in the first explosion, according to medics, with at least two in a serious condition.
The second explosion, which officials described as “controlled,” took place less than half an hour later at the Ramot junction, in northern Jerusalem. Officials said five people were lightly injured from shrapnel.
Both explosions are believed to have been activated from a distance.
Based on a decision by the defence minister, the Israeli army also announced the closure of two key checkpoints in the Jenin area – Jalameh and Salem.
The Israeli police commissioner said the kind of attack that took place in Jerusalem “has not been seen for years,” and that authorities are searching for the assailants. He added that police are searching for more possible explosives in the city.
While the cause was still being determined, the incident came as tensions on the ground continue to rise since last year. Israeli army raids and killings of Palestinians in towns and villages in the occupied West Bank have increased recently in parallel with a rise in Palestinian armed attacks, as well as an increase in settler attacks against Palestinians.
In the bloodiest year for Palestinians since 2006, Israel has killed at least 200 Palestinians, including more than 50 children, in the territories it illegally occupies, including East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the besieged Gaza Strip.
On the Israeli side, there have also been more than 25 fatalities.
Hamas, the Palestinian group which governs the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip, praised the attack, calling it a heroic operation, but stopped short of claiming responsibility.
“The occupation is reaping the price of its crimes and aggression against our people.”
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:
TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent
FACEBOOK (CLICK HERE)
https://web.facebook.com/ipindependent
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
