PALESTINIAN MAN OPENS FIRE IN TEL AVIV ATTACK

Gunman and Israeli security guard killed day after deadly raid

A Palestinian gunman on Saturday opened fire in central Tel Aviv, killing an Israeli security guard before he was shot and killed by police, authorities said.

The attack came a day after a settler rampage in the occupied West Bank killed one Palestinian, deepening the spiral of violence that has gripped the region for the past year and a half.

Late Saturday, officials from Ichilov Hospital identified the Tel Aviv security guard who was killed as 42year-old Chen Amir. Police identified the gunman as 27year-old Kamel Abu Bakr, from a village near the flashpoint city of Jenin in the northern West Bank.

Jenin's refugee camp last month was the site of the largest Israeli offensive in the West Bank in nearly two decades. Twelve Palestinians, including at least eight militants, and one Israeli soldier were killed in the fighting, which forced thousands to flee their homes and left large swaths of the camp in ruins.

lsraeli police said that Amir and another officer noticed Bakr, and, believing he was acting suspiciously, approached him.

They said Bakr then opened fire, gravely wounding Amir. After a short chase, an inspector shot Bakr.

Both Amir and Bakr later died at Ichilov Hospital, according to hospital officials. Amir was married and had three daughters, hospital officials said.

Amateur video circulated online of Bakr vowing that armed resistance was “the only path.” Israel's internal security agency said that Bakr had been wanted for the past six months.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai praised the Tel Aviv police for preventing a more serious attack.

“Our security forces will counter all those who seek to harm us,” Netanyahu said in a statement Saturday night.

After the attack, police and civilians ran through the cafe-lined streets in the seaside metropolis as protesters nearby rallied for their 40th week of protests against Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the country's judiciary.

The Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad both issued statements praising the attack.

The shooting came one day after a settler rampage in a village in the northern West Bank. Late on Friday, armed settlers entered Burqa, a herding village east of the city of Ramallah, shooting and killing 19-yearold Qusai Matan, Palestinian health officials said.

Israeli police said Saturday that they had arrested two Israeli settlers in connection with the attack.