On Thursday, a 36-year-old Palestinian man from the West Bank village of Dura stabbed three Israelis outside a synagogue in Tel Aviv, killing two of them, reported The Jerusalem Post. A Hamas spokesman called the act “heroic,” adding, “We ask the fighters to keep doing so,” reported the BBC.
Hours later, in Gush Etzion, a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, three people were killed, including an American citizen. Initial reports indicated that the U.S. citizen was a participant on a Birthright trip, but that report has since been refuted by The Times of Israel, which reported that there are currently no Birthright trips underway in Israel.
According to Haaretz, at around 4:30 in the afternoon, a Palestinian man opened fire with a submachine gun while driving a car in the settlement of Alon Shvut. He killed three people, including an 18-year-old U.S. citizen, a Jewish man who is estimated to be 50 years old, and a 40-year-old Palestinian man. Four others were reportedly wounded.
Two weeks ago in Gush Etzion, a Palestinian man tried to stab an Israeli soldier. The Palestinian man was later shot by the IDF soldier’s comrades.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect a report indicating that the American citizen killed in Alon Shvut was not a Birthright participant, contrary to initial reports.
Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.
