Israel hunts suspects after 3 killed in axe attack
Published: 04:05 PM,May 06,2022 | EDITED : 08:05 PM,May 06,2022
Israeli police and medics are pictured at the scene of an attack in the central city of Elad, on Thursday. - AFP
ELAD, Israel: Israel conducted a large-scale manhunt on Friday for two Palestinians suspected of killing three Israelis in an axe attack that came as the Jewish state marked its founding.
The attack on Thursday night in Elad, a central city mainly populated by ultra-Orthodox Jews, was the sixth in which Israelis have been targeted since March 22.
Witnesses said two assailants leapt from a car swinging axes at passers-by, leaving three dead and four wounded, before fleeing in the same vehicle.
The attack followed a tense period in which the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan, the Jewish festival of Passover and the Christian holiday of Easter overlapped.
The tensions have boiled over into violent clashes between Israelis and Palestinians at the Al Aqsa mosque compound, a highly contested site in Jerusalem's Israeli-annexed Old City.
Palestinians have been angered by an uptick in Jewish visits to the Al Aqsa compound, where by long-standing convention Jews may visit but are not allowed to pray.
Israel has said the status quo would remain unchanged at the site known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
The Elad attack was condemned by the United States and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who warned it could lead to spiralling violence.
But the Gaza Strip's rulers Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian armed group, praised the attack, calling it a consequence of unrest at Al Aqsa. Neither claimed responsibility.
'This operation demonstrates our people's anger at the occupation's attacks on holy sites,' Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said of the Elad attack.
'The storming of the Al Aqsa mosque cannot go unpunished.'
'PAY THE PRICE'
Israeli security forces have mounted a massive search operation for the attackers, identified by the police as Assad Yussef al Rifai, 19, and Subhi Imad Abu Shukair, 20.
As helicopters and drones roared overhead in search of the perpetrators, young ultra-Orthodox Jewish men in crisp white shirts were seen linking arms and chanting near the scene of the attack.
Women gathered on balconies overlooking the site, as masked forensic officers packed the bodies of the dead into bags and police stopped and searched cars.
Yehuda, a 31-year-old IT worker, said he was afraid that 'the killers have not yet been caught'.
'We suffer hatred and get murdered with an axe,' he said, as he attended the funeral of Oren Ben Yiftach, a 35-year-old from Lod who was killed in the attack.
Police asked the public to provide information on the suspects after publishing their pictures and names. They were described as residents of the village of Rummanah near Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
Israel's Defence Minister Benny Gantz announced measures to stop them escaping.
The Israeli prime minister's office identified the three dead as Yonatan Habakuk, 44, and Boaz Gol, 49, both from Elad, as well as Ben Yiftach.
'We will get our hands on the terrorists... and ensure they pay the price,' Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.
The majority of Elad's 50,000 residents are members of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, known as haredim.
Gantz announced a closure of the West Bank -- in place for the anniversary -- would remain in force through Sunday. - AFP
The attack on Thursday night in Elad, a central city mainly populated by ultra-Orthodox Jews, was the sixth in which Israelis have been targeted since March 22.
Witnesses said two assailants leapt from a car swinging axes at passers-by, leaving three dead and four wounded, before fleeing in the same vehicle.
The attack followed a tense period in which the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan, the Jewish festival of Passover and the Christian holiday of Easter overlapped.
The tensions have boiled over into violent clashes between Israelis and Palestinians at the Al Aqsa mosque compound, a highly contested site in Jerusalem's Israeli-annexed Old City.
Palestinians have been angered by an uptick in Jewish visits to the Al Aqsa compound, where by long-standing convention Jews may visit but are not allowed to pray.
Israel has said the status quo would remain unchanged at the site known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
The Elad attack was condemned by the United States and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who warned it could lead to spiralling violence.
But the Gaza Strip's rulers Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian armed group, praised the attack, calling it a consequence of unrest at Al Aqsa. Neither claimed responsibility.
'This operation demonstrates our people's anger at the occupation's attacks on holy sites,' Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said of the Elad attack.
'The storming of the Al Aqsa mosque cannot go unpunished.'
'PAY THE PRICE'
Israeli security forces have mounted a massive search operation for the attackers, identified by the police as Assad Yussef al Rifai, 19, and Subhi Imad Abu Shukair, 20.
As helicopters and drones roared overhead in search of the perpetrators, young ultra-Orthodox Jewish men in crisp white shirts were seen linking arms and chanting near the scene of the attack.
Women gathered on balconies overlooking the site, as masked forensic officers packed the bodies of the dead into bags and police stopped and searched cars.
Yehuda, a 31-year-old IT worker, said he was afraid that 'the killers have not yet been caught'.
'We suffer hatred and get murdered with an axe,' he said, as he attended the funeral of Oren Ben Yiftach, a 35-year-old from Lod who was killed in the attack.
Police asked the public to provide information on the suspects after publishing their pictures and names. They were described as residents of the village of Rummanah near Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
Israel's Defence Minister Benny Gantz announced measures to stop them escaping.
The Israeli prime minister's office identified the three dead as Yonatan Habakuk, 44, and Boaz Gol, 49, both from Elad, as well as Ben Yiftach.
'We will get our hands on the terrorists... and ensure they pay the price,' Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.
The majority of Elad's 50,000 residents are members of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, known as haredim.
Gantz announced a closure of the West Bank -- in place for the anniversary -- would remain in force through Sunday. - AFP