“It is not possible that in less than a week, we have 11 deaths in three different cities.” Shira, a 25-year-old woman interviewed by AFP, does not hide her “fear”. The reason: a new and sudden wave of attacks in Israel. Terrorist attacks that worry the Israeli authorities as the Ramadan holidays and the large gatherings that accompany them approach. While at least five people were killed on Tuesday near Tel Aviv, franceinfo returns to the facts.
What happened ?
On Tuesday evening, residents of the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak, near the Israeli metropolis of Tel Aviv, then in the nearby town of Ramat Gan reported a man driving by and opening fire on passers-by . At least five people succumbed to their injuries.
Among the victims is a 32-year-old policeman, Amir Khoury. This Israeli Arab took part in the operation to kill the assailant. He is qualified as “hero” by law enforcement. Two Ukrainian nationals are also among those killed, according to police.
The latter claimed to have shot the assailant, without revealing his identity. But Israeli media identified him as Dia Hamarshah, a Palestinian who spent four years in Israeli prisons and hailed from Yaabad in the occupied West Bank. The attacks have not yet been claimed.
#Israel the shooter #Tel Aviv is the Palestinian Dia Hamarcheh from the eulogy of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade of the #fatah. He’s a former prisoner. It’s very unlikely that it’s related to the#EI like the attacks of #Hadyra & #BeerCheba. Toll 5 dead. He has been killed. pic.twitter.com/bzBy4nPri5
— Wassim Nasr (@SimNasr) March 29, 2022
Sunday March 27, in Hadera, in the north of Israel, two police officers, including a Franco-Israeli, were killed in a shooting claimed by the jihadist organization Islamic State (IS). The assailants were shot. Israeli police identified them as Israeli Arab ISIS operatives from Umm al-Fahm, an Arab town in northern Israel.
Shirel Abukarat and Yezen Falah died defending civilians from a heinous attack #terrorist in Hadera, Israel. They were only 19 years old.
We will never forget their heroism. ️Sincere condolences to the families of the victims, speedy recovery to the injured. pic.twitter.com/2zUrfL4ios
— Israel in Belgium | (@IsraelinBelgium) March 28, 2022
Finally, five days earlier, Tuesday March 22 in Beersheva (south), four Israelis – two men and two women – were killed in a knife and ramming attack. This attack was perpetrated by a teacher sentenced in 2016 to four years in prison for having planned to go to Syria to fight within the IS.
What are the reactions there?
After the attack on Tuesday evening, the Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, brought together senior security officials. “The security forces are at work. We will fight terrorism with an iron fist (…). Israel is facing a wave of deadly Arab terrorism”, said the head of government. In the aftermath of the attack, the Israeli police said they were in a mode “counter-terrorism” and the army deployed reinforcements in the occupied West Bank.
On the Palestinian side, President Mahmoud Abbas also condemned the violence.
“The killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians only aggravates the situation further as we all strive to achieve stability.”
Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authorityin a press release
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, ruling Gaza and a rival to Mahmoud Abbas’s secular Fatah, said in a statement that “this operation [était] a natural response to the crimes of the occupation against the rights of our people and our land and our holy places”.
In what context do these attacks occur?
In recent days, meetings have multiplied in an attempt to ease tensions as Ramadan approaches. This holy month of fasting for Muslims is due to begin at the end of the week.
In 2021, clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian demonstrators during Ramadan in Jerusalem, in particular on the esplanade of the Mosques, a Muslim holy site located in the eastern part occupied and under the administration of Jordan, had led to a deadly eleven-day war. between Hamas, in power in Gaza, and the Israeli army.
Seeking to ease the situation during Ramadan, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz held talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman on Tuesday ahead of a similar visit on Wednesday by Israeli President Isaac Herzog. In front of Benny Gantz, the king called “to remove any obstacle to the prayer of Muslims on the esplanade of the Mosques and to prevent provocations which could lead to an escalation”.
What were the reactions of the international community?
Abroad, Germany has warned of a “spiral of violence”. US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said “firmly” condemn the attack “terrorist” occurred on Tuesday. “Such acts of violence can never be justified and must be condemned by all”said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
By the voice of its Minister of Foreign AffairsMélanie Joly, Canada, for its part, said “deeply saddened and concerned by another heinous attack in Israel”. In France, Emmanuel Macron condemned “with the greatest firmness [les] deadly attacks” committed in recent days.
Terrorism has once again struck Israel. I condemn these murderous attacks in the strongest terms. My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones. Israel can count on the support of France and on my total commitment to the fight against this scourge.
—Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 29, 2022
Francis Kalifat, President of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (Crif), for his part addressed his condolences to the victims of the “Islamist barbarism”.