JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli policeman stabbed in the West Bank by a Palestinian is the latest of several attacks in less than two days being called terrorist by Israel.
The policeman was admitted to a Jerusalem hospital with a knife in his back after the Dec. 23 evening attack, Haaretz reported. He had been directing traffic near Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority.
Israeli security forces fired at the assailant but he escaped.
Meanwhile, a rocket fired from Gaza late Dec. 22 landed in a residential area south of Ashkelon. Remains of the rocket were discovered early Dec. 23.
No one was reported injured; there was light damage.
The rocket landed near a school bus stop in the southern Israeli city.
Hours earlier, a bomb exploded on a public bus on Dec. 22 in Bat Yam, a city neighboring Tel Aviv, after the passengers had been removed.
The passengers had alerted the driver to a suspicious package left on the vehicle, which was traveling from Bnei Brak to Bat Yam in central Israel.
The bomb, which was placed in a black backpack with wires sticking out, detonated as a police sapper was working to defuse it.
It is unclear if the bomb was a terror attack or criminal in nature. Police sources told the Times of Israel that it appeared to be a terror attack.
Bus passenger David Papo first identified the bomb and helped remove other passengers. In a telephone call, Israeli President Shimon Peres thanked Papo for his quick action.
Papo told Peres why he decided to examine the bag.
“I didn’t understand how someone could leave such a big bag on the bus,” Papo said. “I tried to lift the bag, but it was so heavy that it raised my suspicion further. When I opened the bag, I saw what it was.
“When the explosion happened, we were in the road helping the police to stop passers-by and the traffic. Only afterwards when I saw the hole in the bus did I understand the damage that could have been caused.”
Also late Dec. 22, Border Police guards prevented a stabbing attack by a Palestinian man at a checkpoint near Jerusalem. No one was hurt and the suspected stabber and two companions were taken in for questioning.
