12 wounded in Tel Aviv bus attack

A knife-wielding Palestinian attacked passengers on a bus in Tel Aviv on Wednesday wounding at least 12 people before being shot by a passing prison officer, Israeli police said. 

It was the first attack in Tel Aviv since mid-November when a young Israeli soldier was stabbed to death by a Palestinian. 

The attacker struck in the morning rush hour.  

Twelve people were wounded in the attack, including three who were in serious condition, four in moderate condition and five who sustained light injuries, hospital sources said. 

The Palestinian man was shot in the leg then taken to hospital.   

Witnesses told army radio the driver apparently used pepper spray or tear gas to try to stop the attack.  

Police identified the attacker as a 23-year-old Palestinian from Tulkarem in the northern West Bank.  

The last attack in Tel Aviv was on November 10 when a Palestinian from the northern West Bank stabbed an Israeli soldier who later died of his injuries.  

That attack took place as Israel was struggling to contain a growing wave of violence in occupied east Jerusalem which spread to Arab towns and villages under Israeli occupation.  It has since abated, although there have been a number of violent incidents over the past month.