Trio held over knife and axe attack that killed three Israelis
▶ Men from occupied West Bank accused of latest assault in two months of violence that have claimed about 50 lives
Israel’s security forces yesterday arrested three men suspected of involvement in a knife and axe attack that killed three Israelis in the central city of Elad last week.
The arrests came amid a wave of violence in recent weeks in the occupied West Bank and Israel.
Police identified the attackers as 19 and 20-year-old men from Jenin in the West Bank, which over the years has been one of the towns worst affected by violence.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had condemned the Elad attacks, warning that the murder of Israeli civilians could fuel a broader cycle of violence.
But Hamas, which controls Gaza, praised the latest violence, calling it a consequence of unrest at Al Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. The group did not claim responsibility for the Elad attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett praised army and intelligence units for capturing “the murderers, terrorists awash with incitement who killed with axes and unimaginable cruelty”.
On Saturday, Israeli troops demolished the home of a Palestinian man who killed a Jewish seminary student in a shooting ambush in the occupied West Bank five months ago, the military said.
The demolition took place around dawn in the village of Silat Al Khartiyeh, with troops swinging sledgehammers to break walls and setting off explosives. Residents threw stones and firebombs at soldiers who fired live rounds, the army said.
Palestinian medics said three Palestinians were injured by live fire and others by tear gas inhalation.
House demolitions have been denounced by rights groups as collective punishment, and the military suspended the practice for several years, from 2005, after concluding it did not serve as an effective deterrent.
However, the army resumed demolitions several years ago and now carries them out routinely in response to attacks in which Palestinians kill Israelis.
In the deadly attack in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish town of Elad, four people were also wounded as they were attacked with axes and knives.
Officials said the attackers arrived in Elad in a vehicle driven by one of the victims and then killed him. At least one attacker used an axe, they said.
At least 18 Israelis have been killed in five attacks since March, including another stabbing rampage in southern Israel, two shootings in the Tel Aviv area, and a shooting last weekend in a West Bank settlement.
Nearly 30 Palestinians have been killed.
Most of the dead had carried out attacks or were involved in confrontations with Israeli forces in the West Bank.
But an unarmed woman and two apparent bystanders were also among those killed, and rights groups say Israel often uses excessive force.
Some Israeli media personalities suggested that Israel respond by targeting Yehiyeh Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in Gaza. On Saturday, the group’s armed wing warned Israel of an “unprecedented response” if Mr Sinwar were to be hurt.
The continuing conflict plays out against the backdrop of Israel’s occupation, now in its 55th year, of the West Bank and other lands Palestinians seek for a state. Serious peace talks collapsed more than a decade ago, while Israel’s settlement expansion on occupied lands has continued unabated.
On Friday, Israel said it was preparing to advance its plans for the construction of 4,000 more settler homes in the West Bank.
If approved, it would be the biggest advancement of settlement plans since the Biden administration took office in the US. The White House is opposed to settlement growth because it further erodes the possibility of an eventual twostate solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Earlier this week, Israel’s Supreme Court upheld an expulsion order that would force at least 1,000 Palestinians out of an arid region in the southern West Bank, where they say they have been living for decades.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the murder of Israeli civilians could fuel a broader cycle of violence