Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Israel searches for attackers who killed 3 in mass stabbing

Israeli police investigate at the scene of a stabbing attack in Elad, Israel, on May 5, 2022. (Maya Alleruzzo / AP) Israeli police investigate at the scene of a stabbing attack in Elad, Israel, on May 5, 2022. (Maya Alleruzzo / AP)
Share
JERUSALEM -

Israeli security forces took part in a massive manhunt Friday for two Palestinians suspected of carrying out a stabbing rampage near Tel Aviv that left three Israelis dead.

The stabbing on Thursday, Israel's Independence Day, was the latest in a series of deadly assaults deep inside the country in recent weeks. It came as Israeli-Palestinian tensions were already heightened by violence at a major holy site in Jerusalem sacred to Jews and Muslims.

Police said they were searching for two suspects, 19 and 20 years old, from the town of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, which has re-emerged as a militant bastion in the latest wave of violence -- the worst Israel has seen in years. Several attackers have come from in or around Jenin, and Israeli forces have launched arrest raids that have ignited gunbattles there.

"We will get our hands on the terrorists and their supportive environment, and they will pay the price," Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said after huddling with senior security officials late Thursday. Authorities said the attackers fled in a vehicle.

Medics described a horrific scene in Elad, an ultra-Orthodox town near Tel Aviv. In addition to the three killed, four others were wounded, one of them critically. Police said at least one of the assailants wielded an axe in the attack.

Israeli media identified those killed as Yonatan Havakuk, Boaz Gol and Oren Ben Yiftah, three fathers in their 30s and 40s who together are survived by 16 children.

Ben Yiftah, 35 years old and the father of six, was from the central city of Lod. The city's mayor, Yair Revivo, said "our heart breaks into tiny pieces" in a Facebook post, calling it a "great tragedy."

Israel marked its Independence Day on Thursday, a festive national holiday in which people typically hold barbecues and attend air shows.

Defence Minister Benny Gantz extended a closure on the West Bank, imposed ahead of the holiday to prevent Palestinians from entering Israel, to remain in effect until Sunday.

In Washington, Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the "horrific attack targeting innocent men and women."

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid spoke with his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who "strongly condemned" the attack in Elad, according to a statement from Lapid's office.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose government administers autonomous zones in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security, also condemned the attack.

"The killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians leads only to more deterioration at a time when all of us try to achieve stability and prevent escalation," the official Wafa news agency quoted him as saying.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, praised the attack and linked it to violence at the Jerusalem holy site.

"The storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque can't go unpunished," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said. "The heroic operation in Tel Aviv is a practical translation of what the resistance had warned against."

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is the third holiest site in Islam and is built on a hilltop that is the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. It lies at the emotional heart of the conflict, and Palestinians and Israeli police have clashed there repeatedly in recent weeks.

Under informal arrangements known as the status quo, Jews are allowed to visit the site but not pray there. In recent years, they have visited in ever-increasing numbers with police escorts and many have discreetly prayed, angering the Palestinians as well as neighboring Jordan, which is the custodian of the site. The Palestinians have long feared that Israel plans to eventually take over the site or partition it.

Israel says it is committed to maintaining the status quo, and accuses Hamas of inciting the recent violence.

At least 18 Israelis have been killed in five attacks since March, including another stabbing rampage in southern Israel, two shootings in the Tel Aviv area, and a shooting last weekend in a West Bank settlement.

Nearly 30 Palestinians have died in violence -- most of whom had carried out attacks or were involved in confrontations with Israeli forces in the West Bank. But an unarmed woman and two apparent bystanders were also among those killed, and rights groups say Israel often uses excessive force.

Israel and Hamas fought an 11-day war a year ago, fuelled in large part by similar unrest in Jerusalem.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem -- which includes Al-Aqsa and other major religious sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims -- in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories to form their future state. The last serious peace talks collapsed more than a decade ago.

------

Associated Press writer Fares Akram in Hamilton, Canada, contributed to this report

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Two and a half years after losing her best friend and first love to suicide, Brooke Ford shared her story of grief and resilience at the CMHA Windsor-Essex Suicide Awareness Walk.

opinion

opinion How to make the most out of your TFSA

The Tax-Free Savings Account can be a powerful savings tool and investment vehicle. Financial contributor Christopher Liew explains how they work and how to take full advantage of them so you can reach your financial goals faster.

An Ottawa driver has been charged with stunt driving after being caught going 154 km/h on Highway 417, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

Local Spotlight

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.