Multiple attacks escalate Jerusalem violence; gun restrictions could ease

JERUSALEM, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Violence continues to escalate in Israel as at least three people died Tuesday and new security measures could result into easier access to guns.

Israel is experiencing stabbings nearly every day this month carried out mostly by Palestinians, leaving dozens of Israelis dead or wounded. Multiple attackers and nearly 17 other Palestinians have been killed in the violence.

At least two people were killed and 16 were injured when a pair of attackers launched a gun and knife assault on a bus in the East Talpiot district of Jerusalem. Police arrived at the scene and shot the attackers, killing at least one. Authorities are working to determine the assailant's identities.

In Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox Malkei Israel area, a man drove his vehicle into a bus stop and ran over three people. He then got out of the vehicle and stabbed them with a knife, killing one.

Another attack left an Israeli wounded after a Palestinian stabbed him at a bus stop in Raanana. The assailant was captured and beaten by civilians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for an emergency session of the security cabinet to discuss new potential security measures, including relaxing gun licensing, so Israelis can easily buy more firearms and close off the Palestinian suburbs of east Jerusalem.

Israelis fear further violence as there is seemingly no peaceful discourse between Palestinian and Israeli authorities.

"You can't be safe anywhere," one Israeli woman told BBC News. "We are worried all the time. Our children are trembling."

Israeli security authorities have attempted to quell rioting by Palestinians, which has led to Palestinian deaths.

Hamas, the militant Islamist group deemed a terrorist organization by both Israel and the United States, praised the recent attacks on Israelis by Palestinians.

"The Hamas movement blesses the heroic operations in Jerusalem and hails the heroes who executed them," the organization's Twitter account said.