Five men were arrested last night in the Arab-Israeli city of Umm el-Fahm for possible involvement in the attack in Hadera.
In the coastal town yesterday two Israeli agents shot dead in the street and at least four people were injured. The officers, a man and a woman, were both 19 years old.
Responsibility for the attack has been claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group. Israeli Prime Minister Bennett has confirmed that the two perpetrators were supporters of IS. They were shot and killed by officers eating at a nearby restaurant.
Israeli police said the two had more than 1,100 bullets, three firearms and six knives. According to the police, this indicates that many more people could have been killed.
Israeli media report that the perpetrators were cousins. One of them was detained by Turkish police in 2016 when he wanted to travel to Syria to join IS, writes The Times of Israel† He was subsequently jailed for 1.5 years in Israel.
Police and army extra alert
At the beginning of last week there was an attack in the city of Beer Shevaperpetrated by a convicted IS supporter. Four Israelis were killed. The security services are investigating whether the perpetrators knew each other.
Prime Minister Bennett has urged residents of Israel to vigilance† “This second IS attack requires a rapid adaptation of the security services to this new threat. Together we will also defeat this enemy.”
Police and military have been placed on a high alert. On busy roads, checkpoints are set up to check vehicles.
Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank have been mounting in recent weeks. At least 15 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces in clashes this year, according to United Nations figures.
Controversial measure considered
Government considers using ‘administrative detention’ against Arab Israelis, writes public broadcaster Kan† That measure is controversial, because people can then be detained indefinitely without trial or charge, because they may be planning something. They don’t know what they are suspected of.
Thousands of Palestinians have been imprisoned by administrative detention in recent decades, Israel human rights organization says B’Tselem† The Ministry of Defense has yet to approve the measure.
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