Israel hunts down Palestinians after three killed in axe attack

Elad, Israel (AFP): Israel conducted a large-scale manhunt on Friday for a pair of Palestinians accused of killing three Israelis in an axe attack that came as the Jewish state marked its founding.

The attack on the night of 5th May in Elad, a central city mainly populated by ultra-Orthodox Jews, was the sixth in which Israelis have been targeted since March 22.

Witnesses said two assailants leapt from a car swinging axes at passers-by, leaving three dead and four wounded, before fleeing in the same vehicle.

The incident had followed daily violent attacks on Muslim worshippers by Israeli security forces at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound during the holy month of Ramandan.

The United States and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas have condemned the attack in Elad. Abbas warned it could lead to spiralling violence.

However, Palestinian armed groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad have called it a consequence of unrest at Al-Aqsa. Neither claimed responsibility.

“This operation demonstrates our people’s anger at the occupation’s attacks on holy sites,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said of the Elad attack.

“The storming of the Al-Aqsa mosque cannot go unpunished.”

– ‘Pay the price’ –

Israeli security forces have mounted a massive search operation for the attackers, identified by the police as Assad Yussef al-Rifai, 19, and Subhi Imad Abu Shukair, 20.

As helicopters and drones roared overhead in search of the perpetrators, young ultra-Orthodox Jewish men in crisp white shirts were seen forming human chains and chanting anti-Palestine slogans near the scene of the murders.

Women gathered on balconies overlooking the site, as masked forensic officers packed the bodies of the dead into bags and police stopped and searched cars.

A 31-year-old IT worker who gave his name as Yehuda said he was afraid that “the killers have not yet been caught”.

“We suffer hatred and get murdered with an axe,” he said at the funeral of Oren Ben Yiftach, a 35-year-old from Lod who was among the three killed.

Police asked the public to provide information on the suspects after publishing their pictures and names. They were described as residents of the village of Rummanah near Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli prime minister’s office identified the three dead as Yonatan Habakuk, 44, and Boaz Gol, 49, both from Elad, as well as Ben Yiftah.

“We will get our hands on the terrorists… and ensure they pay the price,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.

The majority of Elad’s 50,000 residents are members of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, known as haredim.

Israel’s Defence Minister Benny Gantz announced a closure of the West Bank for the Israeli anniversary celebrations.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said 38 Palestinians were wounded on Friday May 6 in clashes with Israeli forces near Nablus in the West Bank, including two teenagers who were shot with rubber-coated bullets.