A Palestinian man injured at least six commuters and a bus driver on Wednesday morning during rush hour in Tel Aviv before being shot by Israeli police.
The alleged assailant, 23-year-old Hamza Muhammad Hassan Matrouk, boarded a commuter bus near the old Central Bus Station in south Tel Aviv on Menachem Begin Road. After the bus passed two stops, he pulled out a knife and stabbed the driver several times in the chest.
Witnesses say the driver struggled against the attacker and fought back with pepper spray. According to Reuters, the driver was also able to alert his dispatcher and call for help. After attacking the driver, the assailant then seriously injured three passengers and wounded at least three others.
The bus traveled approximately 400 metres from where the assailant boarded the bus before swerving to a stop in front of a green light near Ma’ariv Junction, one of Tel Aviv’s busiest intersections.
Officers in a passing police prisons’ services vehicle that happened to be in the area spotted the suspect trying to flee the scene and gave chase. Several officers chased the attacker to nearby HaMasger Street, shot the man in the leg and immobilized him.
At least four of the victims, including the driver, were listed in serious condition.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the stabbing will be treated as a terror attack, while senior Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq took to Twitter to praise the stabbing spree as “brave and heroic.”
Matrouk, reportedly from the West Bank city of Tulkarem, is said to have illegally entered Israel several days ago. His attack exacerbates the existing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians caused by numerous, similar “lone-wolf” attacks late last year.
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