According to Israeli media, the first blast occurred at the Central Bus Station, and the second one happened at Ramot Junction; medics suggest that at least two of those injured remain in serious or critical condition.
Israeli medics said that up to 22 people were wounded by Wednesday's twin explosions. Previously, Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum stated on Twitter that the blasts injured 18 people. According to official data, one of the victims succumbed to wounds inflicted by the blast.
A clip purportedly showing the site of the first incident after the explosion is circulating online.
The second explosion was reported soon after the first one at Ramot Junction near the bus station; however, there is no information available about whether or not the incidents are connected.
According to reports, three Palestinians have been detained in connection with the explosions.
Authorities shut down traffic from the direction of Tel Aviv merging onto Road One, which is the main transport artery leading into Jerusalem. Police raised the alert level in the city, and Defense Minister Benny Gantz is holding an emergency meeting to address the blasts.
#BREAKING: Another explosive device has exploded at another bus stop in Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/nQTztnKzdx
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) November 23, 2022
The blasts occurred amid another round of Israeli-Palestinian tensions in the region. Previously, Israeli troops have conducted raids in the West Bank, prompted by a spate of deadly attacks across the country.
Israeli authorities have shut down major roads and set up checkpoints in the eastern and western parts of Jerusalem as they conduct an investigation into the explosions and search for suspects.
Based on a decision by the defence minister, the Israeli army also announced the closure of two key checkpoints in the Jenin area – Jalameh and Salem.
The Israeli police commissioner said the kind of attack that took place in Jerusalem “has not been seen for years,” and that authorities are searching for the assailants. He added that police are searching for more possible explosives in the city.
Surveillance camera footage from the first explosion was shared on social media.
רגע הפיצוץ הראשון ביציאה מהעיר ירושלים. pic.twitter.com/DeKYxAKfGF
— סולימאן מסוודה سليمان مسودة (@SuleimanMas1) November 23, 2022
Yosef Haim Gabay, a medic who was at the scene when the blast occurred, told Army Radio that there was “damage everywhere here” and that some of the wounded were bleeding heavily.
While the cause was still being determined, the incident came as tensions on the ground continue to rise since last year. Israeli army raids and killings of Palestinians in towns and villages in the occupied West Bank have increased recently in parallel with a rise in Palestinian armed attacks, as well as an increase in settler attacks against Palestinians.
At least 200 Palestinians, including more than 50 children, have been killed by Israel in the territories of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip that it illegally occupies – in the deadliest year for Palestinians since 2006.
More than 25 people have also been killed on the Israeli side.
Just after midnight on Wednesday, Palestinian health officials confirmed the killing of 16-year-old boy, Ahmad Amjad Shehadeh, with a bullet in the heart in Nablus.
Israeli forces had raided Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank to secure the entry of Israeli settlers to the sensitive site of Joseph’s Shrine, which lies about a kilometre away from Nablus’s city centre.
At least five other Palestinians were injured after being shot with live ammunition and stun grenades, the health ministry said, including one in serious condition with a bullet to the stomach.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it dealt with 22 other injuries from rubber-coated bullets and dozens from tear-gas inhalation. It added that “the Red Crescent ambulance was targeted with live ammunition by the occupation forces”.
The explosions come as Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu continues negotiations to form a new governing coalition with far-right and ultranationalist parties. They won a majority in parliament in this month’s general election.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician who has called for the death penalty for Palestinians who carry out attacks, and who is set to become the internal security minister in charge of police in the country’s new government, said the Jerusalem explosions mean he will enforce stronger measures.
“We have to renew targeted assassinations and make them pay,” said Ben-Gvir, in reference to an increase in targeted Israeli army assassinations of Palestinian fighters in the occupied West Bank.
Hamas, the Palestinian group which governs the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip, praised the attack, calling it a heroic operation, but stopped short of claiming responsibility.
“The occupation is reaping the price of its crimes and aggression against our people.”
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