News of distress for Tel Aviv residents arrived in the morning: the assassin, who had shot through the city the night before, killing two people and seriously injuring several others, had been killed. According to official information, secret service forces located him after a search lasting several hours in the Arab district of Jaffa, where he was hiding near a mosque. It was said that he was shot dead there after a shootout.
Christian Meier
Political correspondent for the Middle East and Northeast Africa.
That ended what Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had described hours earlier as a “very difficult night”. However, the consequences of the latest in a series of terrorist attacks in Israel are likely to be felt for a long time: a new escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is imminent, and the stability of the Israeli ruling coalition, which had lost its majority in parliament on the day earlier, could also be threatened with further compromise, culminating in the overthrow of Prime Minister Bennett.
One-hour large-scale operation across the city
According to local media reports, the perpetrator was a 28-year-old Palestinian living in the Jenin refugee camp. On Thursday night, Raed Hazem walked into a bar on Dizengoff Street in the heart of Tel Aviv. There, the man dressed in black began firing a gun at the guests, then fled. Two men, aged 27 and 29, died from their injuries. More than a dozen other victims, some seriously injured, were taken to hospital. One was still in critical condition as of Friday morning.
Video footage shows people fleeing the scene in panic. Despite a large-scale operation involving thousands of security forces, Hazem took nine hours to find. Many Tel Aviv residents did not leave their homes during this period out of fear, there were requests to lock doors and windows. Police Chief Jakob Schabtai said Friday morning that security forces were still on high alert. Police will also ensure security during Islamic Friday prayers – the first of this year’s fasting month of Ramadan, which began a few days ago. The Tel Aviv police chief said there were no warnings about the attack.
13 victims of terrorism since mid-March
This was the fourth deadly attack on Israel in two and a half weeks. On March 22, a supporter of the terrorist organization “Islamic State” (IS) killed four people in Beersheba. On March 27, two people were shot dead by two IS supporters in the town of Hadera. And on March 29, a Palestinian from the West Bank killed five people in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak. As a result, the presence of security forces in Israeli cities has increased noticeably. In addition, measures were taken to prevent more assassins from reaching Israel from the West Bank: additional military units were sent into the occupied Palestinian territory and the army tried to stem the flow of Palestinians who fled into the country every day without permission. to come to Israel to lose weight.
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At the same time, many Israelis are worried that a new wave of Palestinian terrorism is imminent, as last seen in 2015 and 2016. The attack in the middle of Tel Aviv is likely to fuel those fears. There have been 13 deaths since late March. The attack will also increase pressure on the government and the leadership of the army and police. Bennett said Friday night that anyone who helped the killer directly or indirectly “would pay a price.” The prime minister has ordered the crossing to Israel north of Jenin to be closed until further notice. The refugee camp has long been considered a trouble spot. It is unclear whether the timing of the attack also had a symbolic dimension: exactly twenty years ago, in early April 2002, the “Battle of Jenin” took place – days of fierce fighting between the Israeli army and Palestinian militant groups during World War II. intifada. At least 50 Palestinians and more than 20 Israeli soldiers were killed at the time, and several Palestinian homes were also destroyed.
Netanyahu: Terrorism Feels Weakness
It is unclear what additional measures the army will now take to prevent further attacks. As is common in such cases, the abuser’s family home is likely to be destroyed soon. It is questionable whether such measures actually provide deterrence, as the Israeli government claims. On the contrary, they can increase tensions. This also applies to general restrictions on movement that may be imposed on Palestinians.
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But politicians are under pressure to act after measures taken so far have failed to stop the attack. There is also a domestic political dimension: after a member of parliament from Bennett’s Jamina party withdrew its support from the ruling coalition on Wednesday, the coalition now lacks a majority in parliament. And the opposition around former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently courting other Yamina members. The perception that the government is showing weakness in the face of Palestinian terrorism could fuel withdrawal movements. Netanyahu has already tried to reinforce such considerations with public statements: at a rally on Wednesday night, he said the current government could not bring security to Israelis. “There is a simple rule,” Netanyahu said. “When terrorism feels weakness, it raises its head. But when faced with the force, he bows his head.” Netanyahu said his own reign was “the best decade in Israel’s history” in terms of the country’s security.