A bomb thrown into a crowded bus killed four persons and injured 35 near here today. The injured were rushed to hospitals in Jerusalem where five were reported in serious condition. According to eyewitnesses the bomb was thrown by a man at the Mitzpeh Jericho stop, who escaped in a waiting pick-up truck toward the Jordan River.
The incident was one of three terrorist outrages today, apparently timed to coincide with the first anniversary of President Anwar Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem, which launched the peace process between Israel and Egypt. A bomb exploded on the main street of Jaffa at noon, slightly injuring a man and woman and causing damage to nearby shops. A possible tragedy was averted in downtown Jerusalem this evening when an explosive charge found on a busy street comer was removed and safely dismantled.
The attack on the bus was originally attributed to explosives planted in the vehicle. But police said tonight that the assailant was a man standing at the bus stop overlooking this West Bank Arab town where the bus had stopped to discharge passengers. The bus was bound from Shefech Zohar, a spa on the Dead Sea, for Tel Aviv via Jericho and Jerusalem. It was packed with standees at the time of the attack.
The rear of the bus was demolished. Soldiers from a passing army truck helped extricate the injured from the wreckage. Twenty-three were taken to Shaarei Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem, II to Hadassah Hospital at Ein Kerem.
While physicians were treating them, police were alerted to a suspicious-looking parcel at the junction of Jaffa Road, King George St. and Strauss St. Police unrolled an old carpet left on the pavement to find a powerful explosive charge and timer. Traffic was diverted while the bomb was removed and police combed the area for other explosives. Normal traffic was resumed at 6 p.m. local time.
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.
