According to police, two Ukrainian workers aged 23 and 32 were sitting in front of a grocery store in Bnei Brak when the terrorist opened fire. The police did not name the Ukrainians and did not say how long they had been in Israel. The other three killed were a 32-year-old police officer who was an Arab Israeli and succumbed to his injuries after a shootout with a terrorist, and two fathers from families aged 29 and 36.
–
According to security forces, the attacker was a 26-year-old Palestinian from Jaabad near Janin, who was shot on the spot.
–
This is the third attack since last week, killing 11 people. “Israel is confronted with a deadly wave of Arab terror,” said Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Twitter that Israel is “at the height of a dangerous wave of terrorism we have not seen in years”. He called for decisive action “to restore peace and security to the people of Israel.”
–
Israeli security forces are on high alert due to the situation and are preparing for a wave of violence with the approaching Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
–
Palestinians are celebrating
After Tuesday’s attack in Bnei Brak, celebrations broke out in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as in Lebanon. A spokesman for Islamist Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, described the attack as “a natural response to the crimes of the Israeli occupying forces.”
–
They called it a quick response to the “summit of shame in the Negev desert,” as they called a meeting with representatives of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt, which Israel held on Tuesday. Palestinians were called upon to join the talks.
—
