Israel: Terrorist attacks cause 70 victims Retaliation for Shehada death, claims Hamas

Three separate terrorist attacks in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza have left 13 people dead and around 56 people injured, twenty of these seriously, according to latest reports (15.20 MSK).

A suicide bombing in a bus in the town of Safed, Upper Galilee, killed nine people and injured around fifty, twenty of these seriously. The bus was carrying pilgrims and Israeli soldiers back to their units in northern Israel after a weekend break. The attack took place at a bus stop near a holy site, where the tomb of Rabbi Simeon Bar Yogai is situated.

A shooting incident in Jerusalem left three people dead and six wounded, after a Palestinian gunman attacked a border post. The terrorist was killed by the frontier guards.

In a third incident, a Palestinian was shot dead near the colony of Dougit in Gaza, carrying a Kalashnikov assault rifle and hand grenades.

Hamas has claimed responsibility for the bus bombing, saying that this is part of a campaign of ten attacks which will claim 100 Israeli lives, in retaliation for the killing of militant leader Salah Shehada. A Hamas spokesperson has stated that this is the price Israel will continue to pay for its policy of occupying Palestinian territories.

Meanwhile, IDF forces have demolished eight houses in the West Bank as part of the reprisals against terrorist attacks. The homes of suicide bombers and houses where illegal offensive equipment is found and being demolished as part of a prevention campaign.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru