Bus bombed near Tel Aviv
An eagle-eyed passenger and a decisive driver saved dozens of people from death or injury on Sunday, when they cleared a bus near Tel Aviv minutes before it exploded.
A bag, apparently planted by a terrorist, was left on a bus in Bat Yam, a city 15 minutes from Tel Aviv, packed with enough explosive to kill and maim. But a passenger, David Papo, thought the bag suspicious and reported it to the driver.
“Only afterwards when I saw the hole in the bus did I understand the damage that could have been caused,” he said later.
Papo recounted: “A child told the driver that someone had left a bag on the bus, I don’t know why but I decided to examine it because I didn’t understand how someone could leave such a big bag on the bus,” he said.
“I tried to lift the bag but it was so heavy that it raised my suspicion further. When I opened the bag I saw what it was. When the explosion happened we were in the road helping the police to stop passersby and the traffic.”
President Shimon Peres phoned the driver, Michael Yoger, and told him: “The whole nation is saying prayers of thanks today, you saved so many lives with the speed and bravery of your actions – he who saves one life it is as if he has saved an entire world, you saved many lives today.”
Peres went on to say: “The nation owes you a debt of gratitude and I would like to personally congratulate you for this act of bravery.”
The day before the Bat Yam explosion there was a sense of averted disaster along the Israel-Gaza border. Israel caught a cell of terrorists trying to hide explosives on the fence that runs adjacent to the Gaza Strip.
“Concealing explosive devices is a recurring phenomenon, challenging the IDF operational activities intended to protect its forces and civilians,” said military spokesman Peter Lerner.
“The IDF will continue to maintain the right to act upon terrorist threats that pose a clear and present danger to the troops and the operational access they require to defend the civilians of the State of Israel.”
Last weekend also saw Gaza militants fire a rocket into Israel and Gaza rioters throw stones at soldiers and try to breach the border, which prompted an Israeli response of live fire.
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