One dead and two injured in an attack perpetrated by a Palestinian in Tel Aviv
Police and paramedics at the scene of the attack
One person was killed and two others wounded by bullets Thursday evening in Tel Aviv in an attack perpetrated by a member of the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, who was shot dead by a policeman.
The shootings took place on Dizengoff Avenue, popular with night owls, in the center of Tel Aviv – where a Palestinian attack killed three people in April 2022 – while opponents of the reform project government judiciary were demonstrating elsewhere in the city.
In a statement, Hamas said the attack was carried out by a member of its armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Motaz Khawaja, 23, from the town of Nilin, near Ramallah, in Occupied West Bank.
Without claiming the operation, Hamas describes Khawaja as a heroic martyr and presents his act as a personal initiative and a natural response to the crimes of the occupation Israeli.
Initially, the Magen David Adom (MDA), the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross, had indicated that it had evacuated three gunshot wounds, one in critical condition, one seriously injured and one slightly injured. The Ichilov Hospital then reported that the condition of the injured, initially announced as critical, had improved.
In a statement, the Minister of Internal Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, congratulated the policeman who, in a courageous act, eliminated the heinous terrorist and saved many lives.
According to David Friedman's account, the assailant was actually shot by multiple officers.
I heard gunshots and saw people getting ;escape. I immediately loaded my gun and ran to the scene, the policeman told AFP.
Mr. Friedman then recounts chasing the fugitive, receiving reinforcements from other police officers as the man continued to shoot at us.
At one point I fired three shots at him, a colleague also fired three shots, and when he fell he was shot again so that he could not get up again, he said. he added.
Reached by telephone by AFP to Nilin, Khawaja's father, Salah Khawaja, said of his son's act: I think this is a normal reaction for any young person who sees the injustice and killings committed by the Israeli army every day.
Mr. Khawaja said his son was single and a shop manager in Nilin.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, on an official visit to Rome, wished a speedy recovery to the injured , in a brief televised intervention.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he had given the order for immediate action to destroy the terrorist's house.
The attack comes in a climate of high tension and a marked upsurge in violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the entry into office, at the end of December, of one of the most right-wing governments in the country. x27;history of Israel, under the leadership of Mr. Netanyahu.
Three armed Palestinians, including two Islamic Jihad fighters, were killed Thursday morning during a ;an Israeli military operation in the northern occupied West Bank.
Islamic Jihad and Hamas, another Palestinian Islamist movement, have promised to avenge their deaths.
Already on Tuesday, several Palestinian armed groups had called for revenge for the deaths of six Palestinians (including perpetrator of a fatal attack on two Israelis in late February, and at least three other fighters) killed in an Israeli army raid in the northern West Bank.
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During a brief visit to Tel Aviv on Thursday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pleaded for de-escalation amid repeated calls for calm from the military. #x27;UN resound in the desert.
Since the beginning of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 76 Palestinians (including members of groups armed and civilians, including minors), 12 Israeli civilians (including 3 minors) and a policeman, as well as a Ukrainian, according to a separate AFP count ir from official Israeli and Palestinian sources.
