This is the sixth deadly attack in less than two months. Three people were killed and four injured in Elad, in the greater suburbs of Tel Aviv, according to Magen David Adom (the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross), Thursday, May 5.
Israeli police released the names and photos of the two men suspected of carrying out the attack on the anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state. Two Palestinians, from the village of Rumana in the occupied West Bank according to a police statement, are actively wanted. Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced the closure of the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank until April 8, in order to “to prevent the escape of terrorists”.
The attack brings to 18 the number of people killed in anti-Israeli attacks since March 22, some perpetrated by Israeli Arabs and others by Palestinians. Israeli forces carried out a series of operations in the occupied West Bank, resulting in at least 26 Palestinian casualties, including assailants.
Some 300 injured on the esplanade of the Mosques
The head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken condemned “vehemently” an attack “particularly odious”, according to a statement from the State Department released Thursday. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned “the killing of Israeli civilians”, lamenting that “the killings of Palestinians and Israeli civilians lead to a deterioration of the situation”, according to the Palestinian agency Wafa. The Palestinian armed Islamist movements of Hamas and Islamic Jihad have “popular” an attack “heroic” : “This operation bears witness to the anger of our people at the attacks of the occupation against the holy places”, said Hazem Qassem, the Hamas spokesman. None, however, claimed responsibility for the attack.
At the same time, clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians left nearly 300 injured on the esplanade of the Mosques. The Jewish state maintained its reopening to Jews on Thursday, despite calls from Palestinian officials and countries in the region who feared new clashes with the coincidence of two major events: the creation of the State of Israel, and the end Muslim celebrations of Eid al-Fitr.