https://arab.news/g9tsq
- Palestinian gunman who shot dead two at a bar was killed in Jaffa in exchange of fire
- The recent attacks in Israel constitute a 鈥榩ivotal shift,鈥� with attackers switching from knives to guns, 鈥榳hich causes more victims and spreads a state of terror in the Israeli street鈥�
RAMALLAH: About 50,000 Palestinians peacefully performed the first Friday prayer of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Mosque amid tightened Israeli security procedures in the wake of Thursday鈥檚 Tel Aviv violence that left two Israelis killed.
Four of the 15 people injured in the attack are in a serious condition, according to Israeli medical sources.
Thousands of Israeli citizens and Palestinians from the West Bank flocked to the mosque early in the morning after passing through Israeli military checkpoints at the entrances to Jerusalem.
About 3,000 Israeli policemen were deployed throughout East Jerusalem, the Old City and at the gates leading to the mosque. There was no untoward incident.
Ikrima Sabri, the imam at Al-Aqsa, praised the worshipers who came to the mosque from far away places facing Israeli checkpoints and urged Muslims to pray at Al-Aqsa regularly, with special emphasis on the nightly taraweeh prayer.
HIGHLIGHT
President Abbas said the cycle of violence confirms that 鈥榩ermanent, comprehensive and just peace is the shortest and correct way to provide security and stability for the Palestinians, Israelis and people of the region.鈥�
Ibrahim Al-Anbawi, 53, from the Anata refugee camp near Jerusalem, told Arab News that the prayer took place 鈥渜uietly and without tension.鈥� There were fewer worshippers because of Thursday鈥檚 Tel Aviv attack and fears of consequences, he added.
Al-Anbawi, who offers Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa every week, said the sermon was confined to religiosity, without any reference to the current political situation to avoid stirring up feelings.
Meanwhile, the Tel Aviv shooting attack in which a Palestinian gunman shot dead two people at a bar continues to cast a shadow over life in both the West Bank and Israel.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack and stressed the dangers of 鈥渃ontinuing the repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque and the provocative actions of extremist settler groups.鈥�
However, the attack was praised by several Palestinian factions and much of the public.
The officers found the shooter hiding near a mosque in Jaffa, just south of Tel Aviv, Israel鈥檚 Shin Bet security agency said. During an exchange of fire, the attacker was killed, the agency added.
A son of a retired Palestinian security officer, attacker Ra鈥檃d Hazem, 29, was from the Jenin refugee camp in the north of the West Bank.
A high-ranking Palestinian security officer, who preferred anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media, told Arab News that the recent attacks in Israel constituted a 鈥減ivotal shift,鈥� with attackers switching from knives to guns, 鈥渨hich causes more victims and spreads a state of terror in the Israeli street.鈥�
He said these attacks 鈥渞eflect the state of anger in the hearts of the Palestinians against the continued Israeli oppression and the absence of any political or economic horizon.鈥�
Palestinian factions said the Tel Aviv attack represented a natural response to the 鈥渃rimes of the Israeli occupation and the continuation of its violations in occupied Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.鈥�
Thirteen Israelis have been killed, and more than 20 others wounded in four attacks carried out by Palestinians in less than a month.
The Israeli Channel 12 said the demand for psychological help in the country has increased tenfold over the past two weeks after the Beersheba and Tel Aviv strikes.
Condemning the attack, Israeli Premier Naftali Bennett said: 鈥淥ur war on deadly terrorism is long and difficult, but we will win it.鈥�
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said: 鈥淲e will fight terrorism together, strike the resistance fighters wherever they hide, find their senders and collaborators anywhere, and not rest until calm returns to the streets.鈥�
In contrast, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said: 鈥淲e will expand our operations against the wave of attacks. The price we will exact from the perpetrators of the attacks and their senders will be heavy.鈥�
Gantz said that Israel arrested 200 Palestinians, and 鈥渋f necessary, we will arrest thousands more.鈥�
Abbas said the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians 鈥渙nly leads to a further deterioration of the situation, as we all strive to achieve stability, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, and the upcoming Christian and Jewish holidays.鈥�
Abbas warned against 鈥渆xploiting this condemned incident to carry out attacks against our Palestinian people.鈥�
He stressed 鈥渢he danger of the continued and repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa and the provocative actions of extremist settler groups everywhere.鈥�
He said the cycle of violence confirms that 鈥減ermanent, comprehensive and just peace is the shortest and correct way to provide security and stability for the Palestinians, Israelis and people of the region.鈥�
Gantz praised Abbas鈥檚 condemnation of the attack.