JERUSALEM, May 6 (NNN-PNA) – Two Palestinians, armed with axes attacked passers-by in central Israel last night, killing at least three people and wounding four others, before fleeing the scene, Israeli authorities said.
The attack took place in Elad, a Jewish ultra-Orthodox city, east of Tel Aviv.
“We are on a manhunt for the terrorists,” Israeli police spokesman, Eli Levi, said, in a briefing to reporters, adding that, roadblocks were set up and a helicopter was dispatched to search for the two attackers who apparently fled in a vehicle.
Eli Bin, CEO of the Magen David Adom rescue service, told reporters that, one injured person was in critical condition, another sustained serious wounds, while two others were in moderate-to-light condition.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, praised the attack as a response to Israeli actions at Jerusalem’s flashpoint holy site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
The attack came at the end of Israel’s Independence Day, which marks the statehood of the regime of Israel in 1948.
“The joy of Independence Day was cut short in an instant. A murderous attack in Elad that shocks the heart and soul,” Israeli Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid wrote on Twitter.
Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett said in a statement that, the “enemies launched a murderous campaign against Jews … We will lay our hands on the terrorists and their supportive environment, and they will pay the price.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli military announced that, a general closure imposed on Tuesday, on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, will be prolonged until Sunday instead of today “following a security assessment.”
“Crossings into Israel will be open for Palestinians on a humanitarian basis, under special circumstances or for medical reasons only,” the military said in a statement.
The latest attack came, amid rising Israeli-Palestinian tensions, caused by a recent fatal Israeli raids in the West Bank, and repeated clashes between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.– NNN-PNA
