An Islamic terrorist group has claimed credit for a shooting that killed five Israelis in a Tel Aviv suburb Tuesday, in what was the third terror attack in Israel in eight days.
A 27-year-old Palestinian terrorist went on a shooting rampage in Bnei Brak Tuesday night, firing at people who were out walking, riding bikes, or driving their cars in the suburb. Two police officers shot the terrorist dead, but not before he claimed the lives of several people. One of the two officers sustained injuries and later died in the hospital, the Times of Israel reported.
The al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a militant group within the Palestinian nationalist socialist political party Fatah, claimed responsibility for the violence in a video. The terrorists said they had sent “a clear message written in blood in response to the Negev summit,” referring to the recent meeting with leaders from four Arab countries and the United States hosted by Israel earlier this week.
The foreign ministers of Morocco, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain, U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Israeli officials participated in the summit. The meeting was called “treacherous” by the terrorists of Hezbollah in Lebanon and was also opposed by Islamic factions in Gaza, reports said.
On Sunday, ISIS took credit for two other recent terror attacks in Israel — a stabbing attack in Beersheba on March 22 that left four Israelis dead and a shooting in Hadera on March 27 where two police officers were killed.
Israeli authorities are investigating whether the three attacks were coordinated or whether the perpetrators acted independently, according to Fox News.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Wednesday that his nation “stands before a wave of murderous Arab terrorism.”
“My heart goes out to the families who lost their loved ones tonight, and I pray for the well-being of the wounded,” he tweeted. “The security forces are working. We will fight terror with perseverance, stubbornness and an iron fist. They will not move us from here.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also condemned the attack in a statement reported by the Wafa news agency
“The killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians will only lead to further deterioration of the situation and instability, which we all strive to achieve, especially as we are approaching the holy month of Ramadan and Christian and Jewish holidays,” he said, according to the Guardian.
He added that the violence “confirms that permanent, comprehensive and just peace is the shortest way to provide security and stability for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.”