Police Commissioner Kobe Shabtai warned on Sunday that the terrorists who carried out the deadly attack in Greece last week are like “wounded animals” who may be trying to carry out a final suicide mission as security forces continue to search for suspects.
“It is important that we all remain vigilant,” Shabtai told dozens of officers involved in the persecution of people gathered in Kibbutz Nahshonim in central Israel.
“[The suspects] have been without food and water for a long time and will probably do everything possible to carry out one last suicide attack and put it in one way or another for them, or will try to survive and use the vulnerability in us, “added the boss. of the police.
“They can constantly hear the helicopters and see the forces and are in a defensive state.
The security forces are working on the suspicion that the two suspects remained in Israel, with the persecution concentrated in the area around Greece and the West Bank barrier, as well as in Arab communities.
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Police have asked people to avoid these areas and refrain from hitchhiking.
“Residents must be vigilant and report any suspicious persons and act carefully. Avoid the seam area [between Israel and the West Bank] and open areas. “Don’t stop for hitchhikers and don’t pick up unidentified people,” Lieutenant General Shimon Nahmani, head of the police operations department, told the Ynet news site.
Police warnings came after Ynet reported that one of the two terrorists who carried out the deadly attack that killed three Israelis had left a will stating that he was doing so “for the damage done to the Temple Mount.”
The will has not been made public and the report does not say which of the two suspects – As’ad Youssef As’ad al-Rifa’i, 19, and Subhi Emad Subhi Abu Shkir, 20 – belongs to.
Subhi Emad Subhi Abu Shqeir, left, and As’ad Yousef As’ad al-Rifa’i, from a West Bank town near Jenin, the alleged Palestinian perpetrators of the May 5, 2022 terrorist attack in Greece, in which they were killed three Israelis and several seriously wounded. (Israeli police)
According to Ynet, two attackers who were captured alive last week after killing a security guard at the entrance to the West Bank village of Ariel also cite tensions in Jerusalem as motivation behind their attack.
The report says defense officials are now increasingly concerned that tensions around the Temple Mount could spark further regional violence.
Unnamed officials also believe that although most of the attackers in recent weeks have not been directly linked to Hamas, inciting the terrorist group over the Holy Place in Jerusalem is becoming more effective.
While Hamas has not claimed responsibility for most of the March 22 attacks that killed 19 people in Israel and the West Bank, Gaza terrorist leader Yahya Sinuar has repeatedly called on Palestinians to attack Israelis and the group has publicly praised the perpetrators, encouraging more attacks. .
Palestinians chanted slogans and waved Hamas flags after Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, hours after Israeli police clashed with protesters at the Temple Mount complex in the Old City of Jerusalem. (AP Photo / Mahmoud Ilin)
The two men suspected of killing three men in a rampage with an ax and knife on Thursday in Greece may have been inspired by Sinoir’s speech calling on Palestinians and Arab Israelis to carry out terrorist attacks, Haaretz reported. unnamed source of security.
After the attack, Hamas called it a “heroic operation” in response to Jewish Israelis who visited the shrine on the Temple Mount earlier Thursday.
In a speech last week, Sinuar threatened violent consequences if Israelis continued to visit places where, according to the status quo, Jews could visit but not pray.
Hamas leader Gaza Sinuar speaks during a meeting in Gaza City on April 30, 2022 (Mahmud Hams / AFP)
He also called on the Palestinians to hit the Israelis with everything they have – including axes. “Let everyone who has a rifle prepare it. And if you don’t have a rifle, prepare your knife, ax, or knife, “Sinuar said.
Palestinians and Israeli forces have clashed repeatedly on Temple Mount in recent weeks. The violence echoed scenes from last year’s riots, which sparked an 11-day war in May between Israel and Hamas-based terrorist groups led by Hamas.
Ever since last year’s war, Hamas, which has sought to destroy Israel, has threatened to fire missiles at Israel if it violates the organization’s “red lines” in Jerusalem.
Hamas also threatened on Saturday to return to suicide bombings and “burn” Israeli cities if Jerusalem resumes its policy of targeted assassinations of top terrorists, including Sinwar.
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