A bomb explosion that wrecked an Egged bus last night killing two of its passengers and injuring 46 was described by police today as the worst incident of terrorist sabotage in Jerusalem in almost two years. The dead were identified as Katriel Blumenfeld, 42, the father of six children, and Yossi Weismann, a student at the Hebron yeshiva. Both lived in the Geula quarter, a neighborhood inhabited by Orthodox Jews, where the bus was operating when the blast occurred.
The Palestine Liberation Organization in Beirut claimed credit for the outrage. Police issued a warning today of possible new attempts at sabotage aimed at buses. No arrests related to last night’s incident were reported.
According to police, the bus left its departure point in the northern district of Ramot at 9 p.m. last night more crowded than usual for that hour. It was passing through the Geula quarter when a bomb explosion ripped through the rear part of the bus injuring almost all of the more than 50 passengers aboard. Five of the injured were still in serious condition today. Most of the others were released from the hospital by midnight last night.
Police said that attempts at sabotage occur almost every week in Jerusalem but explosive devices are detected and detonated harmlessly. The last serious incident occurred on April 28, 1976 when a bomb concealed in a paint can exploded in downtown Jerusalem killing two policemen and injuring five other persons. Two persons died last November as a result of a terrorist act.
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