Natali Mizrahi

January 27, 2023: Natali Mizrahi, 45, was one of seven Israelis who were shot and killed, while ten more were wounded, on the street in front of a synagogue in the Nabi Yacoub settlement in the northern part of Jerusalem. The suspected shooter, a 21-year-old Palestinian, was shot and killed by Israeli police at the scene.

Among the dead were a father and son, and a Ukrainian woman, Israeli sources said.

Israel has officially identified the Israelis as Asher Natan, 14, Eli Mizrahi, 48, Natali Mizrahi, 45, Ilya Sosansky, 26, Rafael Ben Eliyahu, 56, Shaul Hai, 68, and the Ukrainian national as Irina Korolova, 60.

The attack came just a day after ten Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces – nine in Jenin and one in Jerusalem. Since the beginning of January, 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, including several children, while no Israelis were killed until this attack. During the Israeli assault in Jenin Thursday, in addition to killing nine Palestinians, the Israeli military also blocked ambulances from reaching the hospital and fired tear gas into a children’s ward at the hospital.

Friday’s shooting took place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27th.

The Palestinian man who was shot and killed by Israeli police, the suspected shooter in the attack, was identified as 21-year-old Khairi Alkam. According to Al Jazeera, Alkam’s grandfather and namesake was stabbed to death by an Israeli settler in 1998.

The location of the settlement where the attack took place was the Nabi Yacoub colony, which was constructed on illegally-seized Palestinian land in the neighborhood of Silwan.

This neighborhood has been the target of massive Israeli expansion and Palestinian displacement in recent years, as Israeli authorities try to remove the Palestinian presence and replace the ancient residents of the neighborhood with newly-arrive Zionist colonizers — particularly in the Wadi Hilweh area adjacent to the Al-Aqsa mosque, and in the rest of the Silwan neighborhood.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir toured the scene of the crime, followed by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The officials held an emergency cabinet meeting.

US President Joe Biden called Netanyahu on Friday night, calling the shooting “an attack against the civilized world,” and stressed “the iron-clad US commitment to Israel’s security”.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Israel next week. He said on Friday, “The United States condemns in the strongest terms the horrific terrorist attack. We are in close contact with our Israeli partners and reaffirm our unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.”

According to Israeli Channel 12, “The perpetrator of the attack in the Jewish synagogue got out of a car and carried out the attack with a pistol in Jerusalem.” In addition to the seven killed, ten others were taken to the hospital with injuries ranging from moderate to severe.

Some Israeli media questioned the speed with which the Israeli police arrived on the scene, saying that the Israeli police did not arrive at the scene of the accident until about 20 minutes later. According to those reports, some witnesses said that the police initially believed that the noise came from shots fired in the air from neighborhoods close to occupied Jerusalem.

On Thursday,  Israeli soldiers killed Yousef Yahia Abdul-Karim Mheisin, 22, near Ramallah in the central West Bank, during a procession condemning the Israeli onslaught on Jenin, leading to the killing of nine Palestinians, including one woman and two siblings.

The slain Palestinians have been identified as:

  1. Saeb Mahmoud Ezreiqi, 24, Jenin city.
  2. Ezzeddin Yassin Salahat, 26, Jenin refugee camp.
  3. Abdullah Marwan Al-Ghoul, 18, Jenin refugee camp.
  4. Wasim Amjad Aref Abu Al-Ja’as, 22, Jenin refugee camp.
  5. Majeda Obeid, 61, Jenin refugee camp.
  6. Mo’tasem Mahmoud Abu Al-Hasan, 40, Al-Yamoun town.
  7. Mohammad Mahmoud Sobeh, 30, Burqin town.
  8. Mohammad Sami Ghneim, 28, Burqin town.
  9. Nour Sami Ghneim, 25, from Burqin.

The soldiers also killed one Palestinian, Yousef Yahia Abdul-Karim Mheisin, 22, in the Al-Ram town, north of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank, during a procession condemning the Israeli onslaught on Jenin.

Also Thursday, a Palestinian child, Nayef Oweidat, 13, died from serious wounds he suffered last year during the Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

Natali was from Jerusalem. Source: IMEMC

Eli Mizrahi

January 27, 2023: Eli Mizrahi, 48, was one of seven Israelis who were shot and killed, while ten more were wounded, on the street in front of a synagogue in the Nabi Yacoub settlement in the northern part of Jerusalem. The suspected shooter, a 21-year-old Palestinian, was shot and killed by Israeli police at the scene.

Among the dead were a father and son, and a Ukrainian woman, Israeli sources said.

Israel has officially identified the Israelis as Asher Natan, 14, Eli Mizrahi, 48, Natali Mizrahi, 45, Ilya Sosansky, 26, Rafael Ben Eliyahu, 56, Shaul Hai, 68, and the Ukrainian national as Irina Korolova, 60.

The attack came just a day after ten Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces – nine in Jenin and one in Jerusalem. Since the beginning of January, 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, including several children, while no Israelis were killed until this attack. During the Israeli assault in Jenin Thursday, in addition to killing nine Palestinians, the Israeli military also blocked ambulances from reaching the hospital and fired tear gas into a children’s ward at the hospital.

Friday’s shooting took place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27th.

The Palestinian man who was shot and killed by Israeli police, the suspected shooter in the attack, was identified as 21-year-old Khairi Alkam. According to Al Jazeera, Alkam’s grandfather and namesake was stabbed to death by an Israeli settler in 1998.

The location of the settlement where the attack took place was the Nabi Yacoub colony, which was constructed on illegally-seized Palestinian land in the neighborhood of Silwan.

This neighborhood has been the target of massive Israeli expansion and Palestinian displacement in recent years, as Israeli authorities try to remove the Palestinian presence and replace the ancient residents of the neighborhood with newly-arrive Zionist colonizers — particularly in the Wadi Hilweh area adjacent to the Al-Aqsa mosque, and in the rest of the Silwan neighborhood.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir toured the scene of the crime, followed by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The officials held an emergency cabinet meeting.

US President Joe Biden called Netanyahu on Friday night, calling the shooting “an attack against the civilized world,” and stressed “the iron-clad US commitment to Israel’s security”.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Israel next week. He said on Friday, “The United States condemns in the strongest terms the horrific terrorist attack. We are in close contact with our Israeli partners and reaffirm our unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.”

According to Israeli Channel 12, “The perpetrator of the attack in the Jewish synagogue got out of a car and carried out the attack with a pistol in Jerusalem.” In addition to the seven killed, ten others were taken to the hospital with injuries ranging from moderate to severe.

Some Israeli media questioned the speed with which the Israeli police arrived on the scene, saying that the Israeli police did not arrive at the scene of the accident until about 20 minutes later. According to those reports, some witnesses said that the police initially believed that the noise came from shots fired in the air from neighborhoods close to occupied Jerusalem.

On Thursday,  Israeli soldiers killed Yousef Yahia Abdul-Karim Mheisin, 22, near Ramallah in the central West Bank, during a procession condemning the Israeli onslaught on Jenin, leading to the killing of nine Palestinians, including one woman and two siblings.

The slain Palestinians have been identified as:

  1. Saeb Mahmoud Ezreiqi, 24, Jenin city.
  2. Ezzeddin Yassin Salahat, 26, Jenin refugee camp.
  3. Abdullah Marwan Al-Ghoul, 18, Jenin refugee camp.
  4. Wasim Amjad Aref Abu Al-Ja’as, 22, Jenin refugee camp.
  5. Majeda Obeid, 61, Jenin refugee camp.
  6. Mo’tasem Mahmoud Abu Al-Hasan, 40, Al-Yamoun town.
  7. Mohammad Mahmoud Sobeh, 30, Burqin town.
  8. Mohammad Sami Ghneim, 28, Burqin town.
  9. Nour Sami Ghneim, 25, from Burqin.

The soldiers also killed one Palestinian, Yousef Yahia Abdul-Karim Mheisin, 22, in the Al-Ram town, north of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank, during a procession condemning the Israeli onslaught on Jenin.

Also Thursday, a Palestinian child, Nayef Oweidat, 13, died from serious wounds he suffered last year during the Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

Eli was from Jerusalem. Source: IMEMC

Tadasa Tashume Ben Ma’ada

November 26, 2022: Tadasa Tashume Ben Ma’ada, 50, succumbed to serious wounds in Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

He was injured in one of two separate explosions near a bus stop in Givat Shaul in West Jerusalem.

Israeli sources said Ben Ma’ada was an immigrant from Ethiopia after he came to the country 21 years ago. He was a married father of six children.

The blast immediately killed an Israeli-Canadian teen and caused the injury of about twenty-two Israelis.

The first victim, Aryeh Shechopek, 16, was killed by an explosive placed in a bush behind a bus station in Jerusalem.

An additional twenty-two Israelis were injured in two separate explosions near a bus stop in Givat Shaul in West Jerusalem.

According to Israeli sources, the Police, army, and internal security initiated a massive manhunt looking for those responsible for the two bombings and described the incident as the first of this magnitude of its kind in many years.

Israeli daily Haaretz said the head of the Israeli Police Operations Division, Sigal Bar Zvi, described the explosives used in the two attacks as of “high quality,” adding that the explosives were placed in a bush behind a bus station.

The Police believe that explosives were left several hours before they were remotely detonated, an issue seen as a sign of a pre-planned sophisticated attack. The two explosives were detonated 30 minutes apart.

Haaretz said the blasts killed Aryeh Shechopek, 16, an Israeli teen and a Yeshiva student who also holds Canadian citizenship, adding that his funeral was held in Jerusalem a few hours after he was killed.

Also, more than twenty Israelis were injured in the bombings, including one in critical condition.

Israeli Ynet News said, according to the preliminary evaluation of the bombings, it is believed that several persons are behind the attack that seems to have been in the planning stage for a long period, adding that it does not appear that it was conducted under the direction of the leadership of any armed group.

Ynet added that the persons behind the bombings appeared familiar with the area and scouted its surroundings before choosing the exact time to inflict larger casualties.

It also said that the explosives used in the two bombings were “relatively small but densely packed with nails and metal shrapnel that caused the lion’s share of the damage.”

The Israeli police and security agencies are investigating “whether the people behind the bombings entered Israel from the West Bank and could be from East Jerusalem.”

According to the Jerusalem Post, the explosive used in the second explosion at the Ramot junction was smaller than the first, and added that Israeli security and police assessments indicate that the same person likely placed both explosives.

It said that the first explosion occurred at the entrance of Jerusalem near the Central Bus Station, while the second explosive detonated in the Ramot neighborhood, adding that both explosions occurred at bus stops during rush hours.

Following the bombings, the Israeli army and the Police closed all main roads in Jerusalem and deployed hundreds of additional troops in addition to installing roadblocks.

In related news, Israeli colonizers attacked dozens of Palestinian cars and homes in Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, and several parts of the occupied West Bank, causing damage.

It is worth mentioning that Ynet said a news anchor working with an Army Radio was suspended from her work after insinuating that the Jerusalem blasts “might be connected to the ongoing negotiations to form a coalition government.”

Ynet added that, in an on-air coverage, the anchor, Hadas Shtaif, said: “Police also said that due to fruitful negotiations with a certain character who is about to receive a certain position in the new government – emotions are tense, and these emotions also have to do with the situation.”

Tadasa was an Israeli who lived in Jerusalem and was originally from Ethiopia. Source: IMEMC, Jerussalem Post

Aryeh Shechopek

November 23, 2022: Aryeh Shechopek, 16, was killed by an explosive placed by unknown assailants in a bush behind a bus station in Jerusalem. An additional twenty-two Israelis were injured in two separate explosions near a bus stop in Givat Shaul in West Jerusalem.

According to Israeli sources, the Police, army, and internal security initiated a massive manhunt looking for those responsible for the two bombings and described the incident as the first of this magnitude of its kind in many years.

Israeli daily Haaretz said the head of the Israeli Police Operations Division, Sigal Bar Zvi, described the explosives used in the two attacks as of “high quality,” adding that the explosives were placed in a bush behind a bus station.

The Police believe that explosives were left several hours before they were remotely detonated, an issue seen as a sign of a pre-planned sophisticated attack. The two explosives were detonated 30 minutes apart.

Haaretz said the blasts killed Aryeh Shechopek, 16, an Israeli teen and a Yeshiva student who also holds Canadian citizenship, adding that his funeral was held in Jerusalem a few hours after he was killed.

Also, more than twenty Israelis were injured in the bombings, including one in critical condition.

Israeli Ynet News said, according to the preliminary evaluation of the bombings, it is believed that several persons are behind the attack that seems to have been in the planning stage for a long period, adding that it does not appear that it was conducted under the direction of the leadership of any armed group.

Ynet added that the persons behind the bombings appeared familiar with the area and scouted its surroundings before choosing the exact time to inflict larger casualties.

It also said that the explosives used in the two bombings were “relatively small but densely packed with nails and metal shrapnel that caused the lion’s share of the damage.”

The Israeli police and security agencies are investigating “whether the people behind the bombings entered Israel from the West Bank and could be from East Jerusalem.”

According to the Jerusalem Post, the explosive used in the second explosion at the Ramot junction was smaller than the first and added that Israeli security and police assessments indicate that the same person likely placed both explosives.

It said that the first explosion occurred at the entrance of Jerusalem near the Central Bus Station, while the second explosive detonated in the Ramot neighborhood, adding that both explosions occurred at bus stops during rush hours.

Following the bombings, the Israeli army and the Police closed all main roads in Jerusalem and deployed hundreds of additional troops in addition to installing roadblocks.

In related news, Israeli colonizers attacked dozens of Palestinian cars and homes in Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus and several parts of the occupied West Bank, causing damage.

It is worth mentioning that Ynet said a news anchor working with an Army Radio was suspended from her work after insinuating that the Jerusalem blasts “might be connected to the ongoing negotiations to form a coalition government.”

Ynet added that, in an on-air coverage, the anchor, Hadas Shtaif, said “Police also said that due to fruitful negotiations with a certain character who is about to receive a certain position in the new government – emotions are tense, and these emotions also have to do with the situation.”

Aryeh lived in Jerusalem, and was originally from Canada. Source: IMEMC

Moshe Ashkenazi

November 15, 2022: Moshe Ashkenazi, 59, was stabbed to death by a Palestinian attacker in the illegal Israeli colony of Ariel.

The alleged Palestinian attacker was shot and killed by an Israeli security guard after he killed three Israeli settlers.

Israeli sources reported Tuesday that three Israelis were killed and three were injured in two areas before Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian near Ariel illegal colony near Salfit, in the central part of the occupied West Bank. The incidents occurred in two locations near Ariel when two Palestinians attacked Israeli colonizers at the entrance of the Industrial Zone and a gas station.

Israeli sources identified the three Israelis who were killed as Tamir Avichai, 50, from Kiryat Netafim colony in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, Michael Ledigin, 36, from Bat-Yam, and Moshe Ashkenazi, 59, from Yavne.

According to a statement by the Israeli army, a Palestinian arrived at the gate of the Industrial Zone in Ariel and stabbed several Israelis before fleeing the scene. The army denied reports claiming that a second Palestinian was killed. However, it stated that the soldiers were looking for another suspect in the area.

Israeli Ynet News reported that the Palestinian allegedly stabbed a security guard at the gas station’s entrance, then attacked four others with a knife before using a vehicle to escape, ramming one Israeli with the car before soldiers and armed guards opened fire in his direction.

The Israeli media added that a Palestinian fled the scene in a stolen car and was located by the soldiers on Route 5, where they shot and killed him, and said the young man first tried to flee the scene, resulting in a crash involving eight cars before he was fatally shot.

According to Israeli Channel 7, one of the Israelis, in his 40s, died from critical wounds, a second man, also in his 40’s, was wounded at the gas station and succumbed to serious wounds, and the third, in his 30’s, was fatally injured near the gas station.

Channel 7 added that three other Israelis suffered critical or serious wounds and were taken to the Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva.

The Palestinian has been identified as Mohammad Morad Sami Souf, 18, from Haris town near Salfit in the central West Bank.

According to Israeli reports, Mohammad had a permit and worked at a factory in Ariel.

Israeli paramedics rushed to the area, provided treatment to the wounded, and transferred them to Beilinson Medical Center before three of them succumbed to their wounds; three Israelis suffered serious wounds.

The day before this attack, the Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that Israeli soldiers killed, at dawn, a teenage girl, Folla Rasmi Abdul-Aziz Masalma, 16, in Betunia town after shooting her with a live round in the head while she was a passenger in a car.

Moshe was from Yavne in Israel. Source: IMEMC

Michael Ledigin

November 15, 2022: Michael Ledigin, 36, was stabbed to death by a Palestinian attacker in the illegal Israeli colony of Ariel.

The alleged Palestinian attacker was shot and killed by an Israeli security guard after he killed three Israeli settlers.

Israeli sources reported Tuesday that three Israelis were killed and three were injured in two areas before Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian near Ariel illegal colony near Salfit, in the central part of the occupied West Bank. The incidents occurred in two locations near Ariel when two Palestinians attacked Israeli colonizers at the entrance of the Industrial Zone and a gas station.

Israeli sources identified the three Israelis who were killed as Tamir Avichai, 50, from Kiryat Netafim colony in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, Michael Ledigin, 36, from Bat-Yam, and Mordechai Ashkenazi, 59, from Yavne.

According to a statement by the Israeli army, a Palestinian arrived at the gate of the Industrial Zone in Ariel and stabbed several Israelis before fleeing the scene. The army denied reports claiming that a second Palestinian was killed. However, it stated that the soldiers were looking for another suspect in the area.

Israeli Ynet News reported that the Palestinian allegedly stabbed a security guard at the gas station’s entrance, then attacked four others with a knife before using a vehicle to escape, ramming one Israeli with the car before soldiers and armed guards opened fire in his direction.

The Israeli media added that a Palestinian fled the scene in a stolen car and was located by the soldiers on Route 5, where they shot and killed him, and said the young man first tried to flee the scene, resulting in a crash involving eight cars before he was fatally shot.

According to Israeli Channel 7, one of the Israelis, in his 40s, died from critical wounds, a second man, also in his 40’s, was wounded at the gas station and succumbed to serious wounds, and the third, in his 30’s, was fatally injured near the gas station.

Channel 7 added that three other Israelis suffered critical or serious wounds and were taken to the Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva.

The Palestinian has been identified as Mohammad Morad Sami Souf, 18, from Haris town near Salfit in the central West Bank.

According to Israeli reports, Mohammad had a permit and worked at a factory in Ariel.

Israeli paramedics rushed to the area, provided treatment to the wounded, and transferred them to Beilinson Medical Center before three of them succumbed to their wounds; three Israelis suffered serious wounds.

The day before this attack, the Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that Israeli soldiers killed, at dawn, a teenage girl, Folla Rasmi Abdul-Aziz Masalma, 16, in Betunia town after shooting her with a live round in the head while she was a passenger in a car.

Michael was from Bat-Yam in Israel. Source: IMEMC

Tamir Avichai

November 15, 2022: Tamir Avichai, 50, was stabbed to death by a Palestinian attacker in the illegal Israeli colony of Ariel.

The alleged Palestinian attacker was shot and killed by an Israeli security guard after he killed three Israeli settlers.

Israeli sources reported Tuesday that three Israelis were killed and three were injured in two areas before Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian near Ariel illegal colony near Salfit, in the central part of the occupied West Bank. The incidents occurred in two locations near Ariel when two Palestinians attacked Israeli colonizers at the entrance of the Industrial Zone and a gas station.

Israeli sources identified the three Israelis who were killed as Tamir Avichai, 50, from Kiryat Netafim colony in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, Michael Ledigin, 36+, from Bat-Yam, and Mordechai Ashkenazi, 59, from Yavne.

According to a statement by the Israeli army, a Palestinian arrived at the gate of the Industrial Zone in Ariel and stabbed several Israelis before fleeing the scene. The army denied reports claiming that a second Palestinian was killed. However, it stated that the soldiers were looking for another suspect in the area.

Israeli Ynet News reported that the Palestinian allegedly stabbed a security guard at the gas station’s entrance, then attacked four others with a knife before using a vehicle to escape, ramming one Israeli with the car before soldiers and armed guards opened fire in his direction.

The Israeli media added that a Palestinian fled the scene in a stolen car and was located by the soldiers on Route 5, where they shot and killed him, and said the young man first tried to flee the scene, resulting in a crash involving eight cars before he was fatally shot.

According to Israeli Channel 7, one of the Israelis, in his 40s, died from critical wounds, a second man, also in his 40’s, was wounded at the gas station and succumbed to serious wounds, and the third, in his 30’s, was fatally injured near the gas station.

Channel 7 added that three other Israelis suffered critical or serious wounds and were taken to the Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva.

The Palestinian has been identified as Mohammad Morad Sami Souf, 18, from Haris town near Salfit in the central West Bank.

According to Israeli reports, Mohammad had a permit and worked at a factory in Ariel.

Israeli paramedics rushed to the area, provided treatment to the wounded, and transferred them to Beilinson Medical Center before three of them succumbed to their wounds; three Israelis suffered serious wounds.

The day before this attack, the Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that Israeli soldiers killed, at dawn, a teenage girl, Folla Rasmi Abdul-Aziz Masalma, 16, in Betunia town after shooting her with a live round in the head while she was a passenger in a car.

Tamir was from Kiryat Netafim colony in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Shalom Sofer

November 8, 2022: Shalom Sofer, 63, died from serious wounds he suffered on October 25, reportedly after a Palestinian stabbed him in the Al-Funduq village east of Qalqilia, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

Shalom was pronounced dead  after a sharp deterioration in his condition.

Shalom was a colonialist settler from the Kedumim illegal colony east of Qalqilia in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli Channel 7 quoted Shalom’s son, Lidor Sofer, stating that his father was recovering but suffered a serious health setback.

The son added that his father was discharged from the hospital last week and seemed to be recovering, but “suddenly, one of his wounds opened.”

The Israeli army said the soldiers arrested a Palestinian, believed to be the one who stabbed Shalom, hours after the attack took place.

Earlier the same day Shalom was stabbed, Israeli soldiers killed five Palestinians and injured twenty-one, including four who suffered life-threatening wounds, during an invasion of the center of Nablus city, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

The slain Palestinians have been identified as Zahi Ahmad Baghdadi, 27, Hamdi Sbeih Ramzi Qayyim, 30, Ali Khaled Omar Antar, 26, Hamdi Mohammad Sabri Sharaf, 35, and Wadea’ Sbeih Hweih, 31.

At dawn same day, Israeli soldiers killed Qussai Mahmoud Tamimi, 19, in Nabi Saleh village, northwest of Ramallah in the central West Bank.

Shalom was from Kedumim illegal colony, east of Qalqilia in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Natan Fitoussi

August 15, 2022: Natan Fitoussi, 20, was shot and killed by a fellow Israeli soldier — not by Palestinian fighters, as Israel had originally claimed.

The deceased soldier was identified as Sergeant Natan Fitoussi, 20. He was posthumously promoted from Sergeant to Staff Sergeant. Fitoussi immigrated to Israeli from France in 2014.

According to Israeli sources, Fitoussi was stationed at a guard post on the Israeli side of the Annexation Wall near Tulkarem on August 15th.

He left the guard post for a short time, and when he returned, the other soldier stationed at the post shot at him and killed him. Fitoussi lived in Netanya, since 2014.

Initially, the Israeli army reported the incident as a shooting attack by Palestinians. Israeli troops then began searching the nearby Palestinian villages for the alleged gunman.

But after that initial report, and following an investigation, Israeli military officials clarified that the incident was not a shooting attack by Palestinians.

Such incidents of so-called ‘friendly fire’ are common among Israeli soldiers, especially during ground invasions when soldiers get excited and confused and begin firing at one another.

Earlier this year, two Israeli military officers from an elite commando unit were shot by ‘friendly fire’ at a military base in the Jordan Valley.

The military criticized the Israeli media for reporting on the incident before confirming the details, and before the military had a chance to notify the soldier’s family of his death.

Natan was from Netanya, in central Israel. Source: IMEMC

Oren Ben Yiftah

May 05, 2022: Oren Ben Yiftah, 35, was killed in an attack conducted by two Palestinians, who were seen on security cameras in the vicinity carrying a firearm and an axe, in Elad Israeli city in the Central District.

Israeli sources reported, that besides Oren, two other men, Yonatan Havakuk, 44, and Boaz Gol, 49, were also killed in Elad, and four others were injured.

The sources added that Yonatan and Boaz, both from Elad, will be buried in Petah Tikva and Jerusalem, while Oren of Lod will be laid to rest in his hometown.

Israeli police identified the two suspects in the attack as As’ad Refa’ey, 19, and Sobhi Emad Abu Shaker, 20, from Rommana, near Jenin in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

They launched a massive manhunt for the two alleged attackers throughout Israel and the West Bank. Israeli police said in a statement, “We have special police forces in the field, Shin Bet [Intelligence Service] forces, helicopters,” and other combat units. According to estimates, the two are still in the area, and we are doing everything to apprehend them.”

The Israeli military announced the extension of the closure of the Palestinian Territories (West Bank and Gaza Strip) until Sunday.

The Israeli military, which rules all aspects of life for the Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, had imposed a closure on Tuesday in celebration of Israel’s “Independence Day” on Thursday. On that day, Israelis celebrate the creation of Israel in 1948 on what was, at the time, the state of Palestine.

Israel’s creation on the land led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian residents, turning them into refugees.

The town of Elad, where Thursday’s attack took place, was built atop the Palestinian town of Al Muzayri’a, which was “depopulated” by Zionist militias during the Nakba (Catastrophe – which is how Palestinians describe the displacement they experienced when Israel was created) in 1948.

The closure imposed on the West Bank and Gaza Strip includes the prevention of travel for all five million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip – both outside the Territories and between different areas internally.

Hundreds of Israeli military checkpoints installed throughout the West Bank prevent the Palestinians from traveling to work, school, or visit relatives. The closure came in the midst of a five-day holiday celebrated by Muslims at the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan, known as Eid al-Fitr. This is usually a time of celebration and visiting relatives — but such visits and celebrations were prevented by the Israeli military’s restrictions on Palestinian travel throughout the week.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the attack and said that the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians would only lead to further deterioration and obstruct the efforts to avoid escalation and achieve peace and stability.

Abbas also denounced the serious Israeli escalation against the Palestinians, including the constant Israeli invasions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the attacks against Muslim and Christian worshipers in occupied Jerusalem that have been frequent and violent during Muslim and Christian holiday celebrations over the past month.

Abbas added that “real and comprehensive peace that achieves stability and the legitimate Palestinian rights of liberation and independence is the safest and shortest war to achieve stability and security for both the Palestinians and the Israelis, and the entire region.”

At least 47 Palestinians, including 8 children, were killed by Palestinians, and 16 Israelis (all adults) were killed by Palestinians in 2022. Israel Palestine Timeline – 2022 Deaths

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken issued a statement just hours after the attack – before the perpetrators were identified and the details confirmed — condemning the incident as a horrific terrorist attack targeting innocent civilians. Blinken has not condemned any of the killings of 47 Palestinians, 8 of whom were children, which have taken place since the beginning of 2022.

At least 1623 Palestinians, including many women and children, have been injured by Israeli soldiers and colonizers in several parts of the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip since the beginning of 2022.

Oren was from Lod. Source: IMEMC