Israel: 1 American tourist killed by Palestinian attacker

(Baonghean.vn) - An American tourist was killed and several others were injured in a series of attacks targeting Israelis near Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on March 9, police said.

The American, named Taylor Force, was one of 10 people stabbed by a knifeman in Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv. US Vice President Joe Biden was also present at an event near the scene.

Earlier, two Israeli police officers were shot and wounded in East Jerusalem. A Jewish man was also stabbed in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv. Israeli police said the attackers in the incidents were all Palestinian and were killed.

Wave of attacks

A series of attacks left many people injured. Photo: BBC.

Israeli police said the Jafffa attacker stabbed several people in the port area before moving into the city and attacking more people. The Magen David Adom ambulance service also said that five of the injured were in critical condition.

The fatally stabbed American citizen was identified as a student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He was on a trip to Israel to learn more about global business and entrepreneurship, President Nicholas Zeppos said in a letter to Taylor’s classmates. Zeppos added that others on the trip were safe and no one was injured, calling the incident “a barbaric act of violence.”

Mr Biden, who was attending an event at the same time with former Israeli President Shimon Peres, “condemned this brutal attack in the strongest possible terms” and “expressed sorrow at the tragic loss of an American citizen”, the White House said.

Israeli police said the attacker was a 21-year-old from the West Bank town of Qalqilya and was shot dead at the scene. In the Jerusalem attack, police said a gunman opened fire on a group of police officers outside Damascus Gate, seriously wounding one. The suspect also wounded another, but was later shot dead.

Meanwhile, witnesses in the Tel Aviv suburb of Petah Tikva said a Palestinian attacker stabbed a Jewish victim to death.

According to statistics, since October, at least 29 Israelis have lost their lives in a wave of knife, gun or car attacks by Palestinians or Arabs. During the same period, more than 180 Palestinians have also been killed - mostly by the attackers. These subjects were either attacked by the victims or killed by security forces. Some others have been arrested./.

Tu Linh

(According to BBC)