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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan | |
| 3 wounded, including 1 critically, in central Tel Aviv terror shooting | |
| 2023-03-10 | |
| [IsraelTimes] Police say gunman rubbed out after opening fire at people outside cafe on Dizengoff Street; another victim at death's door; Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw, claims terrorist as member Three people were shot and maimed in a terrorist shooting near a cafe in central Tel Aviv on Thursday night, police and medics said. Police said the Paleostinian attacker shot up people outside the cafe on the corner of Dizengoff Street and Ben Gurion Street, an area typically bustling on Thursday night. He then expeditiously departed at a goodly pace while shooting at other people in the area, before being rubbed out in a shootout with coppers a short time later. One victim was listed in critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery and was still fighting for his life, said doctors at Ichilov Medical Center, where the injured were taken. The other two were listed in serious and moderate condition, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said. The hospital said the critically maimed victim was stabilized and was to undergo surgery along with the other man who was seriously hurt. Another two victims were brought to the hospital to be treated for anxiety. Police said they were treating the shooting as a terror attack. In graphic footage from the moment of the attack, a man in a black jacket can be seen walking briskly behind a group of three men before pulling out a pistol and opening fire at them from point-blank range. He can then be seen trying to flee as panicked cafe patrons take cover. An eyewitness to the attack told Ynet: "I saw a terrorist and I hid. I saw coppers running toward the corner of the building. A shootout started between them. He came [out from behind the building] and they neutralized him," the eyewitness said. The shooter was later identified as 23-year-old Mutaz Salah al-Khawaja, a Paleostinian from the West Bank town of Ni’lin, who had been twice jugged Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! in Israel. He was rubbed out by four armed people, including two coppers who were at the scene, one of whom was off duty, law enforcement officials said. The other two included a civilian and a reserve IDF officer. The Hamas terror group said al-Khawaja was a member of its armed wing. He did not have an entry permit to Israel when he carried out the attack.
Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai said that the fast reaction of the armed individuals prevented a much worse situation. "We had a lot of luck here," said Shabtai, "the fast reaction of the cops and citizens on the site prevented the murder of hundreds of people." He said police know how the terrorist entered the country illegally but declined to provide those details at this time. Israeli forces entered the West Bank town of Ni’lin, near Ramallah, shortly after midnight and were at the home of al-Khawaja, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. The raid came after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered the defense establishment to "immediately" begin work to demolish the terrorist’s home, though the troops were likely only permitted to carry out surveying work. Elsewhere in the West Bank later Thursday, several infiltration alerts sounded in the settlement of Beitar Illit after a suspected bomb was discovered on a bus. Residents were ordered by the military’s Home Front Command to remain in their homes and lock their doors and windows until further notice. According to the Rescuers Without Border emergency service, a suspicious bag with a suspected bomb was found on the bus. Surveillance camera footage said to be from the bus showed a person leaving the vehicle, before smoke was seen from one of the seats. Another man was then seen running out of the bus. Earlier Thursday, undercover coppers killed three Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... members who shot up them in the West Bank village of Jaba’. The terror attack shook Tel Aviv at the tail end of a tumultuous day that saw masses of Israelis throughout the country engage in protests against the government’s plans to weaken the judiciary, and as protest marches and events were ongoing in multiple locations in the city. In light of the attack, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai called on anti-government protesters to clear the streets in order to allow police to secure the area. | |
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