Five arrested in connection with Israel shooting
TEL AVIV: At least five Palestinians allegedly involved in a deadly shooting attack in central Israel were arrested on Wednesday by Israeli forces operating in the West Bank.
A Palestinian gunman with his assault rifle on Tuesday killed five people, a third attack of its kind in the past week.
Shooter Diaa Hamarsheh, 27, from the Israeli-occupied West Bank village of Yabad was shot and killed by police on the shooting spot. A military statement said the arrested suspects were being questioned.
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Club, a group that represents current and former Palestinian prisoners, said those arrested were Hamarsheh’s relatives.
The attacks, mostly carried out by Palestinian citizens of Israel inspired by the Islamic State extremist group, have raised concerns of a new round of violence ahead of a sensitive period where three major Muslim, Jewish and Christian holidays converge.
Israel ramped up its security presence both in Israeli cities as well as around the West Bank in a bid to snuff out any further violence.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said after attack that the country was “dealing with a new wave of terror”.
Israel in recent weeks has been taking steps aimed at calming tensions and avoiding a repeat of last year, when clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian demonstrators in Jerusalem boiled over into an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli authorities were yet to determined whether the attack was organised by militant groups or the attackers acted individually.
No Palestinian groups immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Islamist militant group Hamas praised the “heroic operation”, but stopped short of claiming responsibility.
The Islamic State group had claimed responsibility for the two previous attacks.