Eight people were wounded, one critically, early Monday morning in Israel when a lone Palestinian terrorist went on a stabbing spree outside a Tel Aviv nightclub.
According to reports, the attacker, a 20-year-old resident of Nablus in the West Bank, first hijacked a taxi at knifepoint and stabbed the driver in the hand. He then drove towards the popular Haoman 17 nightclub, rammed into a road block set up near the club, hitting civilians and a border policeman. “He then got out of the car, screamed Allah Akbar [God is Great], and went on a knife attack,” according to a police spokeswoman. The club was filled with teens at the time for an end-of-summer party.
Israeli police believe the man planned the attack in advance, perhaps with the knowledge that the club was hosting a large party for teenagers that night with more than 2,000 people in attendance. The Palestinian Authority, for its part, condemned the attack and “aggression directed at civilians,” but also took the opportunity to denounce Israel’s recent attacks in the Gaza Strip in response to terrorism against it.
The site of Monday’s terror attack in Tel Aviv. |
Indeed, Israel has faced near-daily acts of terror in the form of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip since a multi-layer terrorist attack in Israel’s south left eight dead and 30 wounded ten days ago. On Monday, Israel decided to significantly increase its military presence on its southern border with Gaza and Egypt after receiving information that the Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad was planning another large-scale attack in Israel.
Monday’s terrorist attack is a somber reminder of the threat Israel faces on a daily basis. Between rockets launched from Gaza, terrorist infiltrators from the Sinai (perhaps involving Egyptian citizens), and ‘lone wolf’ attackers based in the West Bank, Israel is surrounded by hostile elements waiting for the right moment.
