Police Hunt for Suspects in Attempted Tel Aviv Bus Attack
Large police forces, aided by police helicopters, dogs and sappers, embarked on an extensive manhunt on Wednesday after a man and a woman suspected of attempting to carry out a terror attack on Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Street.
The police were summoned when passengers on a number 5 bus reported that a man, who was sitting in the back seat of the bus wearing a heavy coat, suddenly yelled out “itbach al yahud” in Arabic (slaughter the Jews).
The frightened passengers fled from the bus, which stopped on Dizengoff Street. Some of the passengers reported that a woman at the front of the bus tried to prevent them from exiting the bus.
The police forces were operating out of the junction of Dizengoff and Ben Gurion streets.
“A heavyset man, around 50 years old, was sitting at the back of the bus,” eyewitness Ortal Neuman told Haaretz. Neuman, who got on the bus several stops earlier, said that the suspect was already on the bus when she got on. She added that there were not many people on the bus.
“When we got to Ben Gurion Street, we heard him [the suspect] yell out ‘Allahu Akbar’ several times. After that he yelled out in Arabic ‘I’m going to kill Jews’” Neuman said. She explained that she did not see whether he was carrying any packages, but that he was wearing long sleeves and looked “fat.”
“People started yelling ‘terrorist, terrorist’” she added. “At first the driver didn’t stop, but then people started yelling at him to open the door. Only after several minutes did he stop and let us all off.”
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