JERUSALEM: At least five people were killed in a shootout in a suburb of Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening. Israel In the past seven days, the total number of Israeli deaths in recent terror attacks has risen to eleven.
In a stern message after the attack, the Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett Vow vowed to deal with such attacks with an “iron fist”, prompting the Israeli police to go on alert at the highest level.
“Israel is facing a wave of deadly Arab terrorism… Security forces are at work. We will fight terrorism with perseverance, diligence and an iron fist,” Bennett said in a statement.
Israel’s prime minister vowed, “They will not drive us out of here. We will win.”
A police spokesman said the shootings took place in two separate areas in Bani Brak, near Tel Aviv.
One of the victims is said to be a police officer who was trying to stop the attacker, while the rest were civilians.
Israeli Prime Minister Bennett held a security consultation on Tuesday evening to discuss the chain of events of the terrorist attacks in Bani Brak and Ramat Gan, the prime minister’s foreign media adviser said in a statement.
“The immediate operational steps to be taken by the security forces were also discussed,” the statement said.
Bennett will convene a meeting of the Ministerial Committee on National Security (Security Cabinet) on Wednesday afternoon.
Minister of Defense, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Public Security, Chief-of-Staff of the Israel Defense Force (IDF), Director of the Israel Security Agency, Director-General of the Israel Police, Director of National Security CouncilThe Military Secretary to the Prime Minister, the Head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate, the Head of the IDF Operations Directorate and a few other officials participated in the discussion.
In a recorded message released by the PM’s office, Bennett said, “These are difficult days for Israel, but with determination, we will win this time as well.”
“Every few years the State of Israel deals with a wave of terrorism. After a period of calm, there is a violent outburst by those who want to destroy us, those who want to hurt us at any cost, those who hate the Jews The State of Israel, drives them insane. They are ready to die – so that we do not live in peace”, said the Israeli Prime Minister.
“We are currently dealing with a new wave of terrorism. What we saw in Operation Guardians of the Walls less than a year ago was the first sign of terrorism and violence, both within Israel and from within Israel. There is a great and complex challenge…..for which the security establishment must be creative and we must adapt ourselves to the new threat and read the telltale signs of solitary individuals, sometimes without organizational affiliation, and land But must be under control, order terrorism to be thwarted before it occurs.”
“The security forces of the State of Israel are the best in the world. They are up to the task and like in previous waves, we will win this time too,” he said.
Footage from the terror attack scene shows the assailant entering a convenience store armed with a rifle and firing at a youth, who is seen running into a nearby building.
The shooter then aimed his rifle at another person on the bike, but missed, and then opened fire on a passing car. After the initial firing, the car stopped when the attacker came close to him and opened fire on the driver who had entered through the window, who died.
Police said the attacker was shot by a police officer on the spot.
The shooter’s name is Diya Hamarsheha, a 26-year-old Palestinian from Yabad near Jenin in the West Bank. He had apparently been in Israel illegally.
He is said to have been arrested by Israel in 2013 for security offenses and also served a six-month sentence.
Israeli police were looking for other suspects amid warnings by the Ramat Gan mayor, Carmel Shama-Hakohen, for city residents not to leave their homes if absolutely necessary.
In the past week, there have been two more terrorist attacks in Israel in the southern city of Beersheba and the northern city of Holon.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz called a situational assessment with the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the chief of the Shin Bet security service, the chief of military intelligence and the head of the army’s operations department.
The Israeli security cabinet will meet on Wednesday regarding the attack.
An Islamic Hamas official in the Gaza Strip said the organization “welcomes the heroic operation, which is a natural response to the crimes of occupation against the Palestinian people.”
“It is also a quick response to the shameful summit held in the south”, he said, referring to the Negev summit, in which Israel had hosted several Arab foreign ministers.
So far no group has claimed responsibility for the shooting.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack, saying the killings of both Israeli and Palestinian civilians ahead of Ramadan, Passover and Easter could aggravate the situation, at a time when we are striving for stability.
In a stern message after the attack, the Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett Vow vowed to deal with such attacks with an “iron fist”, prompting the Israeli police to go on alert at the highest level.
“Israel is facing a wave of deadly Arab terrorism… Security forces are at work. We will fight terrorism with perseverance, diligence and an iron fist,” Bennett said in a statement.
Israel’s prime minister vowed, “They will not drive us out of here. We will win.”
A police spokesman said the shootings took place in two separate areas in Bani Brak, near Tel Aviv.
One of the victims is said to be a police officer who was trying to stop the attacker, while the rest were civilians.
Israeli Prime Minister Bennett held a security consultation on Tuesday evening to discuss the chain of events of the terrorist attacks in Bani Brak and Ramat Gan, the prime minister’s foreign media adviser said in a statement.
“The immediate operational steps to be taken by the security forces were also discussed,” the statement said.
Bennett will convene a meeting of the Ministerial Committee on National Security (Security Cabinet) on Wednesday afternoon.
Minister of Defense, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Public Security, Chief-of-Staff of the Israel Defense Force (IDF), Director of the Israel Security Agency, Director-General of the Israel Police, Director of National Security CouncilThe Military Secretary to the Prime Minister, the Head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate, the Head of the IDF Operations Directorate and a few other officials participated in the discussion.
In a recorded message released by the PM’s office, Bennett said, “These are difficult days for Israel, but with determination, we will win this time as well.”
“Every few years the State of Israel deals with a wave of terrorism. After a period of calm, there is a violent outburst by those who want to destroy us, those who want to hurt us at any cost, those who hate the Jews The State of Israel, drives them insane. They are ready to die – so that we do not live in peace”, said the Israeli Prime Minister.
“We are currently dealing with a new wave of terrorism. What we saw in Operation Guardians of the Walls less than a year ago was the first sign of terrorism and violence, both within Israel and from within Israel. There is a great and complex challenge…..for which the security establishment must be creative and we must adapt ourselves to the new threat and read the telltale signs of solitary individuals, sometimes without organizational affiliation, and land But must be under control, order terrorism to be thwarted before it occurs.”
“The security forces of the State of Israel are the best in the world. They are up to the task and like in previous waves, we will win this time too,” he said.
Footage from the terror attack scene shows the assailant entering a convenience store armed with a rifle and firing at a youth, who is seen running into a nearby building.
The shooter then aimed his rifle at another person on the bike, but missed, and then opened fire on a passing car. After the initial firing, the car stopped when the attacker came close to him and opened fire on the driver who had entered through the window, who died.
Police said the attacker was shot by a police officer on the spot.
The shooter’s name is Diya Hamarsheha, a 26-year-old Palestinian from Yabad near Jenin in the West Bank. He had apparently been in Israel illegally.
He is said to have been arrested by Israel in 2013 for security offenses and also served a six-month sentence.
Israeli police were looking for other suspects amid warnings by the Ramat Gan mayor, Carmel Shama-Hakohen, for city residents not to leave their homes if absolutely necessary.
In the past week, there have been two more terrorist attacks in Israel in the southern city of Beersheba and the northern city of Holon.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz called a situational assessment with the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the chief of the Shin Bet security service, the chief of military intelligence and the head of the army’s operations department.
The Israeli security cabinet will meet on Wednesday regarding the attack.
An Islamic Hamas official in the Gaza Strip said the organization “welcomes the heroic operation, which is a natural response to the crimes of occupation against the Palestinian people.”
“It is also a quick response to the shameful summit held in the south”, he said, referring to the Negev summit, in which Israel had hosted several Arab foreign ministers.
So far no group has claimed responsibility for the shooting.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack, saying the killings of both Israeli and Palestinian civilians ahead of Ramadan, Passover and Easter could aggravate the situation, at a time when we are striving for stability.