Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country’s military would crack down on terrorism in the West Bank after three empty buses exploded one after another in suburbs of Tel Aviv on Thursday night.
The explosions, which further unsettled Israelis at a time when the country was grieving the return of the bodies of three hostages, took place in parking lots in the cities of Bat Yam and Holon. Bombs were also defused on two other buses. No one was injured in the explosions.
Israeli authorities found timers on the bombs and suspect that they were meant to explode the following day in a coordinated terror attack.
“We had a big miracle, a really big terror attack was prevented all across Gush Dan,” the Israeli term for the Tel Aviv metro area, Bat Yam’s mayor said.
In response, the Israeli military moved three battalions to the West Bank. And Netanyahu vowed to step up Israel’s fight against terror groups there, signaling a shift in focus during a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
“We are entering the strongholds of terrorism, leveling entire streets used by terrorists, and their homes, as well as eliminating terrorists and commanders,” he said in a statement Friday. “We are taking extremely important measures, against Hamas and other terrorist entities who are attempting to harm us. This desire has not yet ceased. What we have witnessed yesterday – an attempt to perpetrate a series of terrorist attacks with mass casualties – is a very severe situation. In response, we have augmented the forces in Judea and Samaria,” the Israeli government’s term for the West Bank.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
