Arab Muslim terrorist kills two Jews in south Tel Aviv stabbing attack
Suspect, a 36-year-old Arab from the Hebron area, is apprehended by bystanders who subdued him until police forces arrived; Hamas praises “heroic” operation.
[An Arab] terrorist stabbed three people in south Tel Aviv on Thursday, killing two of them and wounding another.
Police said that the terrorist attempted to flee the scene, but was apprehended by civilians who subdued him until police forces arrived on the scene. The suspect was arrested and taken in for questioning.
The Shin Bet stated that the attacker was a 36-year-old [Arab Muslim] from the village of Dura near Hebron. He did not have a previous security record. According to initial reports, the suspect had a permit to work in Israel and was employed at a nearby restaurant.
Police searched the area to ensure that the terrorist did not have an accomplice.
The stabbing took place at the Panarama Building on Ben Tzvi Street, outside of a Judaica store where prayer services were being held.
Eyewitness Shimon Vaknin said the prayer service had just started when a man covered in blood fell on a number of worshipers. Vaknin said he and the rest of the worshipers – around 15 to 20 – pushed the attacker outside and barricaded the door while he shouted in Arabic and continued to try to force his way back in. Others tried to treat the wounded man until paramedics arrived.
Vaknin said they looked outside the window and saw another critically wounded man on the pavement.
Sigal Pinchas, another eyewitness, said she was almost a victim of the attack and was struggling to keep her composure.
She had walked back to her office to grab her car keys and head to her vehicle which was parked next to the Judaica store. She walked in and heard screaming and looked out of the blinds of the office window to see the attacker stabbing a victim repeatedly.
“I was supposed to be right next to the car,” she said.
One man was pronounced dead on the scene after efforts to resuscitate him failed. MDA paramedics transported two wounded people, one in critical condition and one moderately wounded, to Sourasky Medical Center in the city. The critically wounded man was later pronounced dead at the hospital, bringing the death toll in the attack to two.
Moshe Danonberg and Yonit Ninio, MDA paramedics who arrived on the scene, said that “it was a difficult sight. At the entrance to one of the businesses in the building a 32-year-old man lay unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing, suffering from stab wounds to his upper body. Next to him, a man in his 30s lay with stab wounds to his upper body.”
The paramedics said that one floor down in the building they found an additional victim, an approximately 50-year-old man who was conscious.
While no terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the stabbing attack, Hamas spokesman Husam Badran described it as “heroic” and called for more such attacks against Israel.
