Wave of Terror Strikes Israel, Leaving 11 Dead in a Week

JERUSALEM, Israel – On Tuesday night, Israel suffered its third major terror attack within eight days.

A Palestinian gunman on a motorcycle opened fire in the crowded central Israeli city of Bnei Brak. The terrorist killed five Israelis, including an Arab policeman. Israeli police said they managed to shoot the terrorist and prevent a much more serious attack. 

The attack was the second mass shooting in days. In the city of Hadera, about 30 miles north of Tel Aviv, two Palestinian Arabs killed two and wounded four on Sunday. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for that shooting.

Just days earlier, an Israeli Arab who was previously convicted for trying to join ISIS, killed four in a stabbing spree.  

Thousands of Israelis gathered at funerals around the country. Hundreds mourned a 19-year-old border policewoman killed in one attack and Israel’s education minister lamented the victims of another.   

"Four human beings, who went out on their daily routine, and were brutally murdered, in a murder campaign of a bloodthirsty murderer, only for the reason of them being Jewish,” said Israeli Education Minister Yifat Shasha Biton.

Thousands of Israelis rallied in the streets Tuesday night calling for more police action after the deadly shooting.

The attacks have left eleven Israelis dead and it’s the biggest wave of terror to hit Israel in years. 

To address the wave of terror attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called an emergency meeting of top security officials, and in a nationwide address told Israelis despite the attacks, Israel would prevail.

"Citizens of Israel, these are difficult days,” said Bennett. “Every few years the State of Israel deals with a wave of terrorism. After a period of quiet, there is a violent eruption by those who want to destroy us…we face a challenging period. We have experience in dealing with terrorism, from the very beginning of Zionism. They did not break us then and they will not break us now.”

No Palestinian terror groups claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s shooting in Bnei Brak. Hamas praised the attack as a “heroic operation,” but stopped short of claiming responsibility. Photographs on Twitter show some in Gaza passing out candy to celebrate the bloodshed. 

A Palestinian man distribute sweets to people on the street after five Israelis were killed in shooting attack, in Deir al-Balah in the center of #Gaza strip, on March 29, 2022. Photo by Ashraf Amra pic.twitter.com/0UfaRTaMRb

— Ashraf Amra (@amra_ashraf) March 29, 2022

Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon danced in the streets and waved flags to celebrate the latest attack. 

The attacks come ahead of the Muslim month of Ramadan when there is often a rise in terror attacks. It also comes near the anniversary of last year’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.   

A new study released by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research released sobering findings. It found 44% of Palestinians said the most effective means of "ending the Israeli occupation and building an independent state" was "armed struggle" and 24% chose "popular resistance," a euphemism for sporadic terror attacks. Only 25% chose negotiations.  

***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***