Two Israelis were stabbed to death in separate terror incidents on Monday. Police identified the first victim as border policeman Almog Yissocher Shiloni. He was stabbed near a train station in Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon. Police arrested the perpetrator, a Palestinian man from Nablus who had entered Israel illegally, a few blocks away from the crime scene. A few hours later, another man attacked three Israelis with a knife on the West Bank in the town of Alon Shvut, killing a 25-year-old woman. A guard shot and killed the assailant, who had previously served more than four years in prison for throwing a firebomb at Israeli security forces.
EMS workers at the scene of the stabbing in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo: Reuters) |
Monday’s deadly incidents come after Israeli police shot and killed a man early Saturday morning after he attacked the officers with a knife. CCTV footage appears to show a conflicting version of events, suggesting the assailant may have backed away from a police van before being shot. About 5,000 people demonstrated by setting tires on fire and throwing rocks in the northern city of Kfar Kana after the killing. Dozens of rioters were arrested before being dispersed by police.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the recent violence by saying, “terrorists are inciting, and want to kick us out of here. I promise they won’t be successful.” But continuing incitement to violence from official Palestinian Authority figures and PA media, coupled with smaller but deadly acts of terror committed by individuals who may have been thus inspired, are proving difficult to stop. Without intelligence or a pattern to the attacks, many Israelis now feel a deep deterioration in their country’s security.
