Search for Yerushalayim Terrorists Ongoing as Israel Hunts for Intel

Security forces have been conducting a manhunt for the terrorists who carried out the twin blast attacks in Yerushalayim on Wednesday morning, and are still scavenging for intel on the incident.

Meanwhile, thousands of police officers are spread throughout Yerushalayim and Jenin on high alert.

At the end of a security assessment, Prime Minister Yair Lapid made a statement in which he sent his condolences to the family of the murdered bachur Aryeh Shechupak, Hy”d, saying, “[He was] a boy who did nothing wrong to anyone in the world and was murdered only because he is a Jew.

“I send my wishes for recovery and healing to the wounded,” Lapid continued. “This event is different in nature from what we saw in the the last years. Widespread intel efforts are being made right now to expose the horrid terrorists, to expose those who stood behind them and those who provided them with weaponry.”

Initial findings among the security directorate lead them to believe that several terrorists are responsible for the blasts, and they were likely familiar with the area. It seems that the terrorists waited for the bus stops to be packed with civilians before detonating the explosives they had planted from afar.

The explosives were seemingly relatively small, given that most of the injuries were caused by nails and shrapnel that hit people standing nearby.

The terrorists who placed the bomb at the Ramot Junction attached a gas balloon to the charge so that it would explode, but in the end, b’chasdei shamayim, it did not. Had it done so, the casualties would have been far worse, according to a report on Channel 13 News Wednesday evening.

According to security assessments, both explosives were probably placed by the same terrorist, although it is possible that he received instructions to do so from a terrorist group that he belonged to.

He started his route by riding an electric bike to the entrance to Yerushalayim in Givat Shaul, placing the first bag with the explosive next to the bus stop. He then continued on to the entrance to the Ramot neighborhood, where he placed the second bag.

Israel Police officers and the Shin Bet have been reinforced with an additional 5,000 personnel and are attempting to track down the terrorist, as well as any other terror operatives who may be in the area and may have been involved in the attacks.