An Arab terrorist from Jenin embarked on a shooting spree in the city of Bnei Brak on Tuesday night, killing five men, the third deadly terror attack in the country in a week’s time.
The five victims include two Jewish men, one Christian Israeli, and two Ukrainian citizens.
The police announced that officer Amir Khoury, 32 from the city of Nof HaGalil, was killed in a shootout with the terrorist. He served in the motorcycle unit at the Bnei Brak station in the Tel Aviv district. He is survived by his parents, a brother, and two sisters.
Sergeant A., his partner, recounted how they received several calls about shots fired and arrived at the scene.
“As we reached the entrance [of the street], I noticed a terrorist with an M-16 pointing at us. He fired one bullet at my partner who fell. I was already with the gun in my hand. We [A. and Khoury] fell with the motorcycle, we fought a battle of a few seconds, he [the terrorist] fired maybe two bullets and I eliminated him with my handgun.”
Rabbi Avishai Yehezkel, 29, a teacher, was shot and killed on the street. He left behind a wife and a two-year-old toddler.
Yaakov Shalom, a father of five from Beni Brak, was shot and killed while driving in his car.
The identities of another two victims, Ukrainian citizens who were possibly in the country as construction workers, were yet to be announced.
Following the attack, municipalities around the country announced they were canceling events. Several announced they were suspending construction within the city’s boundaries, apparently to keep the Arab workers out.
The IDF and police announced they were recruiting and deploying further forces to prevent further attacks, or at least to provide a rapid response and the event of another attack.
Security tensions in Israel are high, after a series of terror attacks in the Jerusalem area and the murder of four Israelis in Be’er Sheva and another two in Hadera by Islamist terrorists, and ahead of the Muslim month of Ramadan, which usually spells an uptick in Muslim violence and acts of terrorism in Israel.
The country’s security establishment is bracing for violence, especially as Ramadan coincides with Passover, and following the first anniversary of Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021, which was launched by the IDF following a Hamas rocket attack on Jerusalem that began at the height of the Month of Ramadan.
