The alertness of a bus driver apparently prevented a tragedy Friday at the Tel Aviv central bus station, overcrowded especially on Friday mornings when thousands of people line up for buses for the weekend. The bus driver, who just arrived from Nablus, noticed a small bag left behind by one of the passengers.
With the recent revival of incidents in which hand grenades were found in seemingly innocent bags of fruits and food, the driver became suspicious and called in a policeman. The bag was heavier than usual and a police demolition expert who was called in found a small explosive charge wrapped in some paper The explosive charge was dismantled without causing damage.
Israeli sources said that a new wave of such incidents may be expected as well as a renewal of terrorist activities abroad against Israeli targets. It appears that the terrorists have regrouped after several Israeli counteractions and are now ready for new strikes. The Athens incident Thursday was seen as the first in a new series.
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.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
