Three Israelis killed in renewed Palestinian violence

TEL AVIV, Israel — At least three Israeli Jews were killed and more than a dozen wounded by Palestinian attackers in shooting and stabbing incidents in Jerusalem and Ra'anana on Tuesday, ominous signs of escalating violence that has plagued Israel for weeks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with senior security officials and announced that his government is working on a series of “aggressive steps” in response to the wave of attacks.

“We will use and not hesitate to use all means at our disposal to restore calm,” he told parliament. “I’m sure the steps we will take will let the other side know that terror doesn’t pay.”

In Jerusalem, two assailants opened fire and stabbed people on a bus in a city neighborhood, killing two men, Israeli police said.

Witnesses said the Palestinian attackers locked the doors of the bus to prevent passengers from escaping before police and a security guard killed one attacker and wounded the other.

"Both of the terrorists were already sitting, they didn't look suspicious or anything. I sat down, in the back at the end (of the bus), and just as the driver closed the doors and began to drive, one of the terrorists began to shoot at the man sitting in front of me," bus rider Rubi Mehatvi told Ynet news site from his hospital bed.

"I hid, and tried to open the door but couldn't. He took out a knife and began to stab (someone) in the neck. The second terrorist got up and grabbed me, pushed me up against the window, began to beat me in the head, in the face, and in the back," Mehatvi said.

Almost simultaneously, a driver rammed his car into people waiting at a bus stop in Jerusalem, exited the vehicle and began stabbing the injured and others, killing a 40-year-old man, Israel's Walla news site reported. The attacker was shot dead.

“I was waiting for the bus and suddenly saw a car approaching and slam right into the bus stop, and hit a man right in front of me," Moshe Shmueli, who was wounded in the attack, told Walla.

There were also two stabbings in Ra'anana, a city of about 80,000 in central Israel, where one Israeli died and five more were injured. In one of the incidents, witnesses said a Palestinian attacker was chased by pedestrians as he attempted to flee, and was then hit by a car before the driver handed him over to the police.

In a separate incident near an Ikea store in Kiryat Ata in northern Israel, a Jewish Israeli man stabbed another Jew in a suspected failed revenge attack. Police said they concluded the man was hoping to stab an Arab in revenge for the wave of violent attacks against Jews that has spread across Israel in recent weeks.

In all, 20 people were injured in the four attacks Tuesday.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri praised the attacks, while Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat called on the government to seal off the West Bank and some Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem. Hamas governs Gaza, where violence also has flared.

Opposition leader Itzhak Herzog said he would support any additional security measures called for by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fight Palestinian terrorism including the closure of East Jerusalem and other Palestinian areas, the placement of a large number of army and police forces on the ground, and activating reservists.

Since the Jewish New Year last month, eight Israelis have been killed and dozens wounded in a shooting, a stoning and a number of stabbings.

At least 27 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 11 identified by Israel as attackers and the rest in clashes between stone-throwers and Israeli troops. Hundreds of Palestinians have also been wounded.

Israel's border crossing with Gaza was closed Tuesday as some 200 Palestinians rioted, hurled stones and burned tires.

Hamas called Tuesday's attacks "a message for anyone thinking to go up to Al-Aqsa mosque." The mosque is the third holiest site in Islam and is in the Old City of Jerusalem. Jews refer to it as the Temple Mount. Tensions have risen as Israel has sought to restrict access to the mosque amid security concerns.

In Washington, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said that “the U.S. condemns in the strongest possible terms" the recent attacks against Israeli civilians. He said the Obama administration is “deeply concerned” about the escalating violence and urges all sides to restore calm.

"We mourn any loss of life whether it's Israeli or it's Palestinian," Earnest said.

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Onyanga-Omara reported from London