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Two Israeli police officers were killed and six injured in a shootout in the northern Israeli city of Hadera on Sunday evening. The attackers, Arab Israelis from the town of Um al-Fahm, were shot dead.
According to an Israeli security official, the two attackers were sympathizers with ISIS, which later claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. It came five days after another attack in Beer Sheva in which an Arab man from southern Israel killed at least four Israelis in a killing spree with knives and autorams before a bystander shot and killed him.
Subtitled footage showed two men opening fire with different weapons on Hadera’s main street. One of them wore body armor with the symbol of the Punisher from the Marvel movies. Israeli police said the men carried knives, rifles and about 1,100 bullets.
Foreign Minister Antony Blinken during the opening address at the Negev Summit on Monday in Sde Boker, Israel. (Asi Efratii)
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Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett issued a statement Monday morning urging Israeli citizens to be alert to possible attacks. “The second terrorist attack inside Israel by Islamic State supporters requires the security forces to adapt quickly to the new threat, and we will do so. I urge citizens to remain vigilant. Together we will defeat this enemy as well.”
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett issued a statement Monday morning urging Israelis to be vigilant in the face of possible attacks. (Asi Efrat)
The attack came hours after the start of a historic two-day summit in the Negev with foreign ministers from Israel, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt.
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Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid briefed his colleagues on the attack over dinner.
At the final joint press conference, all foreign ministers condemned the deadly attack and expressed their condolences to the families of the victims.
Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said: “Our presence today is, in my opinion, the best response to such attacks.”
A few hours after the start of a historic two-day summit in the Negev with foreign ministers from Israel, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt, two Israeli police officers were attacked.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who initiated and hosted the summit, promised it would be a recurring event. “What we are doing here today is making history. Building a new regional architecture based on progress, technology, religious tolerance, security and intelligence cooperation. Together with our closest friend, the United States, today we open a door to all peoples of the region, including the Palestinians, and offer them to replace the path of terror and destruction with a shared future of progress and success.”
The historic Negev summit was convened amid reports of the imminent signing of the new nuclear deal with Iran. The ministers said they wanted to send a clear message to Iran and its proxies.
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Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani spoke about the recent attacks by the Houthis, an Iran-backed militia in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He said the region’s urgent security and stability have made the need for cooperation urgent.
Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken agreed that cooperation is key and that progress can only be made “if we work together to address common security challenges and threats, including those from Iran and its proxies.”
Blinken and senior diplomats from Israel and four Arab states held a landmark meeting to discuss issues ranging from nuclear talks with Iran to the global shockwaves of Russia’s Ukraine war.
On Monday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh criticized the summit, calling it “a great illusion” for excluding the Palestinians. At a government meeting in Ramallah, Shtayyeh added that the forum was an unjustified “price” for Israel.
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Jordan’s King Abdullah, who did not attend the event, has traveled to Ramallah to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed normalization agreements with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords initiative led by former President Donald Trump.