Team News Riveting
Jerusalem, September 8
Six people have been killed and 12 others wounded by Palestinian gunmen on Monday in one of the deadliest shooting attacks in Jerusalem in the past few years.
The condition of six injured is reported to be critical. Israeli police said the two terrorists arrived in a vehicle at around 10 am and opened fire at a bus stop in Ramot Junction, on the city’s northern outskirts.
An off-duty soldier and a civilian returned fire, “neutralising” the attackers, the police added.
The victims were identified as Levi Yitzhak Pash, 57, Yaakov Pinto, 25, Yisrael Matzner, 28, and Rabbi Yosef David, 43, Rabbi Mordechai Steintzag, 79, and Sarah Mendelson, 60.
The two terrorists were identified by the Shin Bet security agency as Mohammad Taha, 21, from Qatanna, and Muthanna Amro, 20, from Qubeiba. Neither had prior arrests, according to the Shin Bet.
The two villages are adjacent to each other on the outskirts of Ramallah in the West Bank, west of the junction and over the Green Line. The Israel Defense Forces said troops were encircling the villages.
The military said troops were also dispatched to carry out scans for potential accomplices in the area alongside police.
The attackers used makeshift “Carlo” submachine guns, according to images from the scene. The improvised gun, also known as a Carl Gustav, is commonly manufactured at illegal workshops in the West Bank and has been used in numerous Palestinian attacks in the past.
Police said they had recovered the weapons, as well as a knife and ammunition.
Law enforcement officials also said the Shin Bet security agency had arrested a resident of East Jerusalem suspected of smuggling the two gunmen into Jerusalem by car. The man has had previous run-ins with law enforcement for trying to help Palestinians reside illegally in Israel, Kan news reported.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later arrived at the scene, which he surveyed alongside National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and MK Zvi Sukkot. The prime minister also entered the number 62 bus that had come under fire.
The premier offered his condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
“A mighty war against terror is taking place on all fronts,” he told reporters at the scene. “We are now pursuing and encircling the villages where the terrorists came from.”
