Israeli bus catches fire in east Jerusalem attack

A number of Palestinian youths are suspected in an arson attack on an Israeli bus after they allegedly threw stones and a Molotov cocktail at the vehicle Thursday evening in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras el-Amoud. According to reports, the bus initially came under attack when the vehicle was pelted with stones, forcing the Arab bus driver to abandon the bus and look for police assistance. Once the bus driver returned with the authorities, they discovered the bus on fire. Firefighters said the blaze was under control and no one was hurt in the incident. In a separate incident earlier on Thursday, a bus driver sustained light injuries in a stone throwing attack that damaged the windshield of his vehicle near the Palestinian village of Hizma, according to police reports.Israeli security forces were investigating the event, and searching for possible suspects. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s recently announced a war on rock throwing following a wave of rock throwing and Molotov cocktail incidents by Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank against Jews, some of which have been fatal and have shaken the country’s sense of security.In a glimpse of the government’s promised “war on rock throwing,” Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein on Thursday approved the use of the Ruger rifle by police under specific circumstances in Jerusalem.Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.