JERUSALEM – A day after a Palestinian homicide bomber killed eight passengers on a bus, Israeli mass transport (search) companies on Monday received five buses equipped with a system they hope will stop bombers.
The basic system, developed by Israel Military Industries (search), has a turnstile at the bus entrance and a one-way barrier at the exit.
If the driver spots a suspicious-looking person trying to board, he can lock the turnstile by pushing a button. The barrier at the rear prevents attackers from boarding there.
Though a bomber could set off explosives outside the bus, the assumption is that casualties would be fewer than if the attack occurred on the inside.
The homicide bombing (search) in Jerusalem on Sunday was the 15th on a bus during more than three years of Palestinian-Israeli violence. More than 100 passengers have been killed.
"We hope that the new technology would help us stop the current terror wave that's harming the citizens of Israel," Transportation Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.
In a more sophisticated version of the system, a bomb-sniffing sensor is attached to an alarm near the driver and costs $20,000. The turnstiles add $2,000 to the cost of a bus.
Five buses equipped with turnstiles will start a monthlong trial Tuesday in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, said Eli Manor of the Dan bus company. If the trial is a success, the sensors will be added.
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