US, UAE condemn Jerusalem bus bombing attack

Security and rescue forces work at the site of an explosion at a bus station in Jerusalem, Nov. 23, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

On Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security. Two explosions at two bus stations in Jerusalem injured at least two Americans and killed Aryeh Shechopek, 16, a Canadian-Israeli Yeshiva student.

“The United States stands firmly with the people of Israel in the face of this morning’s terrorist attack in Jerusalem,” Blinken said in a statement issued by the State Department.

The highly sophisticated blast, the first such attack in Jerusalem in years, wounded 19 people. No group has yet claimed responsibility, but both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have credited the attack.

Earlier Wednesday, White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre condemned the attacks.

“We unequivocally condemn the terror that took place overnight in Jerusalem,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “The United States has provided all appropriate assistance to the Government of Israel as it investigates the attack and works to bring the perpetrators to justice. We mourn the reported loss of life and wish those injured a speedy recovery. The United States stands with the Government and people of Israel stand together.”

Other foreign ministries also condemned the bombing, including the United Arab Emirates, which established relations with Israel as part of the 2020 Abraham Accords. “We wish the injured a speedy recovery,” they said in a statement from the Tel Aviv embassy.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolly called the attacks “heinous”. “My heart goes out to the victim’s family, friends, Jewish community and those affected by this tragic attack. [Canada] Stand with the people of Israel,” she said.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid wrote on Twitter that this type of coordinated attack is unlike anything Israel has seen in recent years, and that he is increasing the deployment of security forces in the Jerusalem area to prevent further attacks and hunt down the perpetrators who are still at large . “The State of Israel has been dealing with terrorism since its inception,” Lapid said.

Lapid also cited the case of Tiran Fero, a 17-year-old Israeli Druze man who was taken to a hospital in the West Bank city of Jenin after a car accident before Palestinian gunmen cut him off life support on Tuesday, taking him to a hospital. Walked away with his body and is now holding it for ransom. Israeli authorities said they were working to recover the bodies. Incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the kidnapping a “barbaric act of barbarians”.

The incidents are part of the deadliest wave of violence among Israeli and Palestinian civilians since the so-called “knife intifada” of 2015-2016. Far-right Israeli politician Itamar Bengewell, who has said he will seek a security ministry in the incoming government, said on Twitter that now was the time for “tough measures” against terrorism. “We have to make terrorism pay, we have to go back to targeted killings, we have to impose curfews on the villages where the terrorists come from… It’s time for a right-wing government as soon as possible. Terror won’t wait,” he said Say From the scene where one of the bombs went off.