Israelis Accuse Palestinian of Stabbing Spree on Tel Aviv Bus
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Israel Police(TEL AVIV, Israel) — Thirteen people were wounded in a stabbing attack on a bus in Tel Aviv Wednesday, some of them seriously.
The suspected assailant, a 23-year-old Palestinian man identified as Hamza Matrouk, was shot and apprehended by a special prison service unit that happened to be at the scene at the time of the incident.
According to investigators, Matrouk entered Israel illegally earlier in the day before boarding the bus.
Matrouk’s first victim, police say, was the bus driver who suffered deep stab wounds. As the attacker proceeded to stab passengers, the driver managed to open the door of the bus to allow people to escape further injury.
The driver was described as being in grave condition while four others were treated for serious to moderate injuries.
Although injured himself, Matrouk told investigators that he was a lone wolf motivated by clashes over the city of Jerusalem and last summer’s conflict in Gaza in which more than 2,000 Palestinians were killed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The terrorist attack in Tel Aviv is the direct result of the poisonous incitement being disseminated by the Palestinian Authority against the Jews and their state. This same terrorism is trying to attack us in Paris, Brussels and everywhere.”
The extremist group Hamas, meanwhile, praised Matrouk’s action.
In other developments, U.S. personnel in Israel are being restricted in their travel because of the bus attack.
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