Jerusalem-Israeli security forces launched a major investigation on Friday for two Palestinians suspected of killing three in an attack in a city in central Israel, police said.
The attack on Thursday night, Israel’s Independence Day, was the latest in a recent surge in violence between Israel and Palestine, raising fears of a retreat into a broader conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said after the attack in the city of Elado, about 15 km (9 miles) from Tel Aviv, “we will get terrorists and their support environment and they will pay the price.”
Witnesses and emergency response personnel stated that the attackers used an ax. The other four were seriously injured, medical officials said.
Police identified the perpetrators as two Palestinians from the Genin area on the west bank of the Israeli occupation and said they may have fled the scene by car. Police installed obstacles, deployed helicopters, and sought public help to find the suspect.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz has extended the closure of the West Bank and Gaza, which was imposed before national holidays, until Sunday to prevent Palestinians from entering Israel.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused “a horrifying attack targeting innocent men and women” in a statement Thursday.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also blamed the attack, “the killings of Palestinian and Israeli civilians only get worse,” Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Since March, Palestinian and Israeli Arab minority members have killed 18 people, including three police officers and guards, in attacks on Israel and the West Bank, primarily targeting civilians.
Israel has responded with arrest attacks in Palestinian towns and villages, which often caused clashes, bringing the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops to at least 40 since the beginning of the year.
Victims include armed members of radical groups, lone perpetrators, and bystanders.
Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist group of Muslims who rule Gaza, praised Erad’s puncture wounds, but did not claim responsibility. He said the attack was a response to Israeli actions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in Jerusalem.
Over the past month, Palestinians and Israeli police have repeatedly clashed at a complex, one of the most sensitive places in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Jordan, the caretaker of Palestinians and the third holy place in Islam, has accused Israel of not doing enough to ban non-Islamic prayers for many years. I’m denying it. The complex is the most sacred place of Judaism and is the trace of two ancient Jewish temples.
Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. Palestinians are seeking these territories for future nations.
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