The NYPD went on alert Sunday — ordering increased security for city subways and buses and at local Jewish houses of worship — after the failed terror bombing of a bus in Israel, The Post has learned.
Law-enforcement sources said cops were ordered to immediately start searching city transit facilities — including buses and subways — and “to stay vigilant and to take a proactive approach” while doing so.
Cops were also directed to provide additional security at synagogues and other “sensitive locations” in the city tied to Israel and its government, the sources said.
According to international media reports, quick action prevented any injuries in Israel when a pipe bomb believed to have been planted by Palestinian terrorists exploded on a bus just moments after it was evacuated in the coastal city of Bat Yam, just south of Tel Aviv.
The explosive device was hidden in a black bag found in the back of the bus. The driver stopped the bus and ordered all 12 passengers off when no one claimed ownership of the suspicious package, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Local police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said it blew up while being inspected by a bomb-squad member who wasn’t apparently injured but was taken to a hospital for evaluation, according to The Associated Press.
“Based on the findings at the scene by bomb disposal experts, it was a terrorist attack,” Rosenfeld said.
“We’re continuing to search the area for suspects.”
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, which marked the most serious attack inside Israel since 20 people were injured in a Tel Aviv explosion in November 2012.