Iran Press/ Middle East: Palestinian groups celebrated the shooting in Tel Aviv on Thursday night, but none of them took responsibility for the shooting spree that left at least two dead and 15 others fighting for their lives.
The shootings are in retaliation for the Zionist regime's daily crimes against innocent Palestinians.
“The continuing terrorism of the occupation and its crimes attempts to Judaize Jerusalem al Quds and to perform sacrifices in the Al-Aqsa Mosque to build its so-called ‘Temple’ during what they call ‘Passover’ — against it stands blood and bullets,” Hamas said in a statement.
Several senior Islamic Jihad officials also praised the shooting, with many noting that the operation took place deep inside Israel’s center.
“This heroic operation deep in Tel Aviv confirms how frail [Israel] is, how susceptible it is to being broken,” senior Islamic Jihad member Yousef al-Hasayneh said, according to a statement circulated in Arabic-language media.
The Dizengoff shooting was the latest in a wave of attacks inside Israel over the past few weeks.
Ten Israeli were rushed to the nearby Ichilov Hospital with gunshot wounds, two of whom were later declared dead, the hospital said. Four others were listed as critical and were undergoing surgery, according to the hospital. Two were seriously injured, and two were mildly hurt.
Israeli police have tentatively described Thursday’s attack as a nationalistically motivated shooting, although the gunman has yet to be identified by authorities. Hundreds of elite military forces and Israeli army officers have flooded the Tel Aviv streets to search for the perpetrator.
In footage published by Palestinian media, a parade of motorcycles can be seen celebrating the attack in the streets of Jenin. The West Bank city has seen repeated violent gunfights between locals and Israeli soldiers over the past few months.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had yet to comment as of Thursday night.
One of the few officials in Abbas’s Fatah movement to comment on Thursday’s shooting was mid-level functionary Munir al-Jaghoub, who runs several social media accounts that disseminate the Palestinian party’s messaging.
Jaghoub blamed “the continued occupation of the lands of the State of Palestine,” West Bank settlement construction, and the world’s “double standards” towards the Palestinians for the shooting.
“The only solution is to end the occupation of the Palestinian territories and realize the Palestinian state on the ground,” Jaghoub wrote in a tweet.
The shooting comes on the eve of the first Friday in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Officials and analysts have warned for months that this year’s Ramadan could see high tensions between Israel and the Palestinians. Clashes in Jerusalem al Quds last May during Ramadan helped spark the war between Israel and Gaza groups.
211
