Israel on Tuesday has raised its level of threat from terrorism to highest possible after yet another deadly terror attack took place earlier, the third within a week.
Five people were killed when 26-year old Diaa Hamarsheh, resident of the village of Ya'bad near Jenin in the West Bank, opened fire from an automatic rifle in two separate locations in the predominately ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak. The gunman was shot and killed on the scene.
Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said his forces would be deployed in city centers and in the entrance to major urban areas in the wake of the shooting spree.
The IDF was also bolstering its deployment along the border with the West Bank with four battalions., according to Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi
In addition, the security cabinet will convene on Wednesday to consider additional steps meant to prevent the terror wave from deteriorating.
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Emergency responders remove the body of a victim in Bnei Brak after the deadly shooting attack there
(Photo: Dana Kopel)
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett conducted a security assessment immediately after the attack on Tuesday and said Israel is facing a murderous wave of Arab terror.
"My heart is with the families of the victims and my prayers are with the wounded," Bennett said. "Our security forces are carrying out their mission. We will fight terrorism with conviction and with an iron fist. They will not move us from here. We will win," Bennett said.
The deadly attack in Bnei Brak was the third in a week after four died in a stabbing and car ramming attack in Be'er Sheva last Tuesday, and two more were killed in a shooting attack in Hadera on Sunday.
Those attacks were carried out by Arab Israelis, who were affiliated with the Islamic State.
Bennett, who is isolating having been infected with COVID, met on Tuesday with Defense Minister Benny Gantz and other security officials to discuss the deteriorating security situation, with the IDF and the police bracing for an outbreak of violence during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins April 2.
On Wednesday, Israeli Arabs will mark Land Day, commemorating the death of six Arab citizens who were killed by police in 1976 during a demonstration protesting land confiscations in the Galilee.
Extreme right-wing legislator Itamar Ben Gvir announced his intentions to enter the Temple Mount compound on Land Day in what can be seen as a provocation, which may bring about clashes with Muslims who regard the Al Aqsa Mosque compound a holy site.
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Extreme right MK Itamar Ben Gvir in Bnei Brak after a deadly attack that killed five on Tuesday
(Photo: Dana Kopel)
Earlier on Tuesday, Gantz met in Amman with King Abdullah II and briefed him on the government's efforts to reduce tensions ahead of the holiday and allow freedom of worship including in Jerusalem, as well as efforts to improve the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank and in Gaza.
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Defense Minister Benny Gantz meets Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman on Tuesday
(Photo: AFP)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack on Tuesday. "The killing of Israeli and Palestinians civilians will only cause further deterioration," Abbas said but warned that the attack on Tuesday should not be used as a pretext to target Palestinians.
Meanwhile, in the village of Ya'bad, and elsewhere on the West Bank and in Gaza, Palestinians celebrated the killing of Israelis in Tuesday's attack, by serving sweets to passers-by.
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Palestinians in Gaza celebrating the terror attack that killed 5 in Bnei Brak on Tuesday
(Photo: Courtesy)
Hamarsheh had served a prison term in 2013, for security offenses and according to his social media posts, was a devout Muslim.
On Sunday he posted on his Facebook page "Glory to those who change reality."
Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terror groups praised the attack in Bnei Brak.