Three dead as Jerusalem sees bloodiest day in rising unrest

Jerusalem suffered its bloodiest day yet Tuesday in a wave of unrest, with at least three Israelis killed as Palestinian attackers opened fire on a bus and drove a car into pedestrians.

 The bus attack marked the first assault with a gun in Jerusalem in the two-week-old upsurge of Palestinian violence.

 The rising tide of unrest, which has seen a series of stabbing attacks and violent protests, has raised fears that a full-scale third Palestinian uprising, or intifada, could erupt.

 In the first and second intifadas, in 1987-1993 and 2000-2005, hundreds were killed in near-daily violence between Israel and the Palestinians.

 The bus attack saw one Palestinian assailant with a pistol and another with two knives assault some 15 people travelling on an east Jerusalem bus, police said.

 Two Israelis were killed, including a 60-year-old, while around 10 others were wounded, medics and police said.

 One of the attackers was shot dead while the other was wounded, police said.

 "I was in my house and I heard between 20 and 30 shots between the police and the terrorists," a man who lives in the area said, declining to give his name.

 Another resident said the incident went on for nearly 10 minutes.

 In another attack around the same time in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish area of Jerusalem, a Palestinian drove a car into a group at a bus stop and exited with a knife.

 At least one person was killed and eight wounded, medics said. The attacker was also wounded.

 It was not clear if the attacks were coordinated. All three attackers were from the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Jabel Mukaber, police said.