Bus passenger pulls out knife, threatens driver
Palestinian pulls knife on bus driver at entrance to Beitar Illit after driver refuses to let him get off in undesignated area. Circumstances under investigation
A Palestinian traveling on bus 128 from Beit Shemesh
to the settlement Beitar Illit
pulled out a knife and began waving it around near the Beitar Checkpoint at the entrance to Beitar Illit, northwest of Bethlehem.
Palestinian pulls knife at bus driver, passengers ( )
No one was injured during the incident and the Palestinian fled the scene.
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Passengers reported that the suspect boarded the bus with a sharp object and began waving it around. Jerusalem Police said that the Palestinian tried to force the driver to let him off in the middle of the road and when the driver refused, the suspect pulled a knife.
The driver then stopped and opened the door, allowing the Palestinian to leave the bus and flee the scene.
The possibility that the incident was not nationalistically motivated is being examined and the IDF is currently searching for the man. Beitar Illit has raised its level of alertness.
Gaza Strip's Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh gave a speech marking two years to the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal on Saturday, saying: "We call for the renewal of the popular intifada in the West Bank, to restart resistance within it."
Haniyeh also praised the recent string of terror attacks, the latest of which took place last Thursday evening, during which a Palestinian rammed a tractor into an IDF base and tried to run over soldiers until he was shot dead. Following the incident, which took place between Jerusalem and Ramallah, army officials expressed fear that the terror attacks in the West Bank will continue.
In early October, retired Colonel Sariya Ofer, was murdered in the Jordan Valley. A day before his murder a security official told Ynet that the series of recent terror attacks, which were carried out by lone terrorists, may encourage "individual terrorism."
The official spoke after a series of terror attacks in the West Bank – the kidnapping and murder of IDF soldier Tomer Hazan in Beit Amin; the fatal shooting of soldier Gal Kobi in Hebron; and the attack on a nine-year-old girl in Psagot. The girl was injured in the attack.
Yoav Zitun contributed to this report
