JERUSALEM – Two Palestinian assailants attacked with a knife in a town near Tel Aviv on Thursday night, killing at least three people and injuring four others before fleeing in a car, Israeli officials said.
Police launched a massive search for the attackers, setting up blockades and sending a helicopter. The stabbing on Israel’s Independence Day was the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Israeli cities in recent weeks.
“We will hold on to the terrorists and their supportive environment, and they will pay the price,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said after clashing with senior security officials late Thursday.
Israeli-Palestinian tensions have risen recently with attacks on Israel, military operations in the occupied West Bank and violence in the most sensitive holy site in Jerusalem. The site of the Al Aqsa Mosque was the scene of new unrest earlier Thursday.
Alon Rizkan, a medic with Israel’s Magen rescue service, David Adom, described a “very difficult call” when he arrived at the scene in Greece, an ultra-Orthodox city near Tel Aviv. He said he had identified three dead in different places. At least four others have been injured and one is in critical condition, officials said.
Israeli media quoted police as saying there were two attackers, and shortly before midnight, police said they were still searching for the attackers. They called on the public to avoid the area and called on people to report suspicious vehicles or people.
Israel celebrated its Independence Day on Thursday, a national holiday on which people usually barbecue and attend air shows.
Defense Minister Benny Ganz has ordered the closure of the West Bank, imposed before the holiday and to prevent Palestinians from entering Israel, to remain in place until Sunday.
In Washington, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said US officials “strongly condemn” the attack in Greece.
“It was a horrific attack on innocent men and women, and it was particularly disgusting when Israel celebrated its Independence Day,” Blinken said in a statement. “We remain in close contact with our Israeli friends and partners and stand firm with them in the face of this attack.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose government administers autonomous zones in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has condemned the attack.
“The killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilian waters has only worsened at a time when we are all trying to achieve stability and prevent escalation,” he was quoted as saying by the Wafa news agency.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, praised the attack and linked it to violence at a holy site in Jerusalem.
“The storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque cannot go unpunished,” said Hamas spokesman Hazem Kasem. “The heroic operation in Tel Aviv is a practical translation of what the resistance warned.”
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam and was built on a hill, which is the holiest site for Jews who call it the Temple Mount. He is at the emotional heart of the conflict, and Palestinians and Israeli police have clashed repeatedly in recent weeks.
Early Thursday, Israeli police stormed the scene to drive out Palestinian protesters after Jewish visits, which had been suspended for Muslim holidays, resumed.
As visits resumed, dozens of Palestinians gathered to chant, “God is the greatest.” Fights broke out when police went to arrest one of them. Police fired rubber bullets at the vast eplanade as some Palestinians took refuge in the mosque itself. Later, police can be seen right in front of the entrance to the barricaded mosque.
Police said they had reacted to dozens of people shouting and throwing stones, and that one police officer was slightly injured. The Palestinian Red Crescent Emergency Service said two Palestinians were taken to hospital after being beaten with batons.
Unlike previous clashes, Palestinian witnesses said there were no stone-throwing at first. Some of those who took refuge in the mosque began throwing stones and other objects when police entered the building. Witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
Under informal arrangements known as the status quo, Jews are allowed to visit the site but not pray there. In recent years, they have been visited by an increasing number of police escorts, and many have prayed discreetly, angering Palestinians as well as neighboring Jordan, which is the site’s guardian. The Palestinians have long feared that Israel plans to take over or divide the place.
Israel says it is committed to maintaining the status quo, and accuses Hamas of inciting recent violence.
It was one of the worst bloodshed in years. At least 18 Israelis have been killed in five attacks, including a knife rampage in southern Israel, two other shootings in the Tel Aviv area and a shooting last weekend in a West Bank town. Nearly 30 Palestinians have died in the violence – most of whom have carried out attacks or clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank. But an unarmed woman and a lawyer were also killed, who appear to have been inadvertently shot.
Israel and Hamas waged an 11-day war a year ago, fueled largely by similar unrest in Jerusalem.
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