A gunman wounded at least eight people aboard a bus carrying Jewish worshipers in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday, Israeli authorities and witnesses said.
The shooter later turned himself into Israeli authorities, according to a police statement, which did not identify him. Israeli media reported that the attacker was a Palestinian from East Jerusalem.
The Old City is home to holy sites for Jews, Muslims and Christians and is among the areas where Palestinians are seeking statehood. Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its capital, a status not recognized internationally.
The attack took place in the early hours of Sunday, as Jews were leaving the Western Wall rites marking the end of the Sabbath.
“Jerusalem is our capital and a tourist center for all religions,” Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement, adding that Israeli security forces would “restore calm.”
An Israeli police officer investigates after the attack. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)
There was no immediate claim of responsibility by any armed faction.
The US State Department said in a statement that it “strongly condemns the terrorist attack”, adding that at least five US citizens were among the injured.
The attack comes a week after the worst outbreak of hostilities in more than a year, when Israeli jets struck the besieged Gaza Strip in what the military said was a pre-emptive strike aimed at preventing an imminent threat for Israel
At least 49 people were killed in Gaza, including civilians and children, and hundreds more were injured during 56 hours of fighting, which also saw more than 1,000 rockets fired at Israel by the Islamic Jihad militant faction.
Tensions have continued since then, with three gunmen killed in a shootout with Israeli security forces in the West Bank city of Nablus last week.