Photo: Israel Police (view license)

Terrorist Attacks in Israel

 

In just over a week, four separate terror attacks in Israel have left fourteen victims dead and numerous others wounded, raising fears that a new wave of terror has begun in the Jewish state.

 

The attacks come at the same time that a landmark, and unprecedented summit was taking place in the Negev, between the foreign ministers of Israel, the United States and four Arab countries: The United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, and Morocco. Also, in the way of timing, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which has sometimes been a time of heightened tension, is now beginning and March 30 marked “Land Day,” the annual commemoration of the six Arab-Israelis who were killed during protests against the planned expropriation of land on March 30, 1976. 

 

Israeli security forces have now been placed on the highest level of alert, with increased precautions and protections being put in place across the country.

 

Jewish Federations are monitoring the security situation carefully, including for missions and groups currently on the ground in Israel.

 

March 22, Beersheva

In the first incident, four Israelis were killed and two others wounded on March 22 in a ramming and stabbing attack at an outdoor shopping mall in Beersheva. The assailant, a 34-year-old Bedouin Arab from the Negev, first stabbed a woman to death at a gas station before entering his car, ramming a cyclist, and then stabbing several other people. The terrorist was confronted by an armed bus driver, who attempted to get him to lower his weapon, but when the attacker lunged, he was shot by the driver as well as a second armed Israeli civilian. The terrorist, who died from the gunshot wounds, was a convicted ISIS supporter.

March 27, Hadera

In the second incident, two terrorists killed two police officers in Hadera on March 27. During the attack, two Arab Israeli men opened fire with assault rifles on one of the city’s main streets. The two gunmen, both affiliated with ISIS, were shot dead by police officers who had been dining at a nearby restaurant. 

March 29, Bnei Brak

In a third incident, five people were killed by a Palestinian terrorist in a shooting attack in the city of Bnei Brak. The gunman initially shot dead one person in a car and then two other people on a nearby sidewalk. He then shot dead another Israeli on a nearby street. The terrorist, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was then engaged in a shoot-out with a police officer who arrived at the scene by motorcycle. Both the terrorist and the police officer were killed. 

April 7, Tel Aviv

In a fourth incident, three people were killed, and at least nine others injured, by a Palestinian terrorist in a shooting attack on Dizengoff Street in downtown Tel Aviv. The gunman opened fire into a crowded bar on Thursday night at the start of the Israeli weekend in one of Tel Aviv's most popular nightlife areas. The terrorist, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was tracked overnight to a mosque in Jaffa and was killed in a shootout Friday morning.

Victims Killed in Beersheva

Doris Yahbas, 49, a mother of three

Laura Yitzhak, 43, a mother of three

Rabbi Moshe Kravitzky, a father of four

Menahem Yehezkel, 67

Victims Killed in Hadera: 

Yazan Falah, a 19 year-old Druze border police officer

Shirel Aboukrat, a 19 year-old woman who served as a border police officer 

Victims Killed in Bneil Brak:

Yaakov Shalom, a Bnei Brak resident and father of five

Rabbi Avishai Yehezkeli, a yeshiva teacher and father of two

Victor Sorokopot, 38, a foreign worker from Ukraine

Dimitri Mitrik, 23, a foreign worker from Ukraine

Amir Khouri, a 32-year-old Arab Christian police officer

Victims Killed in Tel Aviv:

Tomer Morad, 28, a recent college graduate from Kfar Saba

Eytam Magini, 27, a Wix employee engaged to soon be married

Barak Lufan, 35, a resident of Tel Aviv and husband and father of three

May their memories be blessed.

Reactions

Photo: Avi Ohayon / Government Press Office (view license)

Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett

Following the attack in Bnei Brak, Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett convened an emergency security meeting with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, the Public Security Minister, the IDF Chief-ofStaff, the Director of the ISA (Shin Bet), the Israel Police Inspector General, the Director of the National Security Council, the Prime Minister's Military Secretary, the head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate, the head of the IDF Operations Directorate and other officials. 

 

After the meeting, Prime Minister Bennett addressed the nation saying: 

"Citizens of Israel, these are difficult days. Every few years the State of Israel deals with a wave of terrorism. After a period of quiet, there is a violent eruption by those who want to destroy us, those who want to hurt us at any price, whose hatred of Jews, of the State of Israel, drives them crazy. They are prepared to die – so that we will not live in peace..."

 

“We are currently dealing with a new wave of terrorism…. The security forces of the State of Israel are the best in the world. They are up to the task and, as in the previous waves, we will prevail this time as well."

 

“Citizens of Israel, I ask, together with you, to share in the immense pain of the families and wish the wounded a quick recovery. We are all responsible for each other. We must all be responsible and alert. I stand by the civilians and police officers who shot the terrorists in the various locations. I have spoken with some of them and thanked them on behalf of all of us. These are heroes of Israel who, thanks to their courage, have saved lives. We face a challenging period. We have experience in dealing with terrorism, from the very beginning of Zionism. They did not break us then and they will not break us now. The secret of our existence is the mutual responsibility among us and our determination to maintain the home that we have built – at any price. Citizens of Israel, we will prevail this time as well."

Other reactions

Arab-Israeli Member of Knesset Mansour Abbas, who leads the Islamist Ra’am Party - the first Arab party to join an Israeli government – also condemned the attack, and noted that terrorists do not distinguish between Arabs and Jews. He said, “We all stand together in the face of a murderous wave of terror.” 

 


 

Israel’s Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej, Israel’s second ever Arab minister and a member of the Meretz party, said he was “worried” by this week’s attacks, but that the “silent majority” of Jews and Arabs in Israel could counter extremism. “The majority, we want to live together. We love life. Don’t let this extremist, this murderer, win. Arabs and Jews, we have the same interests. In order to keep Israel strong, we should go hand in hand together.”

 


 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Israel when the Hadera attack took place, commented, “Such senseless acts of violence and murder have no place in society. We stand with our Israeli partners and send our condolences to the families of the victims.” 

 


 

In a veiled condemnation, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said “The killing of Israeli and Palestinian civilians will only lead to a deterioration of the situation ahead of Ramadan. We are trying to obtain some stability. This circle of violence shows true, lasting peace is the only solution to maintaining the security and stability for our peoples.”

 


 

Hamas and Islamic Jihad have praised the attacks. On its website, Hamas wrote, “The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) blesses the heroic operation against the Zionist occupation soldiers in the so-called 'Tel Aviv' area, which led to the killing and wounding of a number of Zionist occupiers, and stresses that all the heroic operations carried out by our Palestinian people, in every inch of our occupied land, comes in the context of the 3 natural and legitimate response to the terrorism of the occupation and its escalating crimes against our land, our people and our sanctities.” 

 


 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called President Isaac Herzog and “sharply" condemned the terror attacks that killed 11 Israelis. "On behalf of myself and all citizens of Turkey, I want to wish citizens of Israel and the Jewish People a Happy Passover,” Erdogan said.