Israelis dread walking the streets after Tel Aviv shooting, admits military chief

The top Israeli military official says the recent shooting attack in a crowded entertainment area of Tel Aviv has created fear among local people, who now dread walking the streets. 

Israeli army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, acknowledging the failure of the regime’s military apparatus in thwarting the shooting attack, said it has fueled deep fear among people, suggesting that the people are feeling increasingly vulnerable.

"We used to worry about getting on the bus, but now we are afraid to walk the street. There is a possibility that those who performed the operation will knock on our doors," he said on Saturday.

He further said that the Israeli security forces, who were unable to control the situation, “suffered a defeat and the perpetrator escaped the scene easily."

"The security of settlers has been damaged and this situation will continue for a long time," he added.

The remarks came two days after a Palestinian man, resident of Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, opened fire at people on Tel Aviv’s busy Dizengoff Street, killing three and injuring 16 others.

Palestinian resistance groups hailed the “heroic operation” as a “natural response” to Israeli crimes.

It was the fourth such incident in the occupied Palestinian territories in less than three weeks, exposing deep fault lines in the regime’s much-hyped security arrangements.

The resistance fighter was killed following a massive manhunt by Israeli forces near a mosque on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.

Palestinian groups hail ‘heroic operation’ that kills 2 in Tel Aviv

At least two people are killed and eight others are injured during a shooting attack in the heart of Tel Aviv.

Hamas called the attack a “heroic operation” and vowed that “resistance” against the Israeli regime “is continuing and escalating.”

“The continuing terrorism of the occupation and its crimes attempts to Judaize Jerusalem 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,” it said in a statement.

Following the heroic operation, Israeli premier Naftali Bennett granted “all security forces full freedom” of operations in a bid to give a sense of security to local people.

“There are not and will not be limits for this war,” he said. “We are granting full freedom of action to the army, the Shin Bet [domestic security agency], and all security forces to defeat the terror.”  

Meanwhile, Israeli media on Saturday reported that the Palestinian man, who carried out the operation, did not have a work permit and had entered the occupied territories illegally.

Israeli military officials called for increasing the number of work permits for Palestinians from the West Bank to reduce their illegal entry and monitor their movements.

Between 40,000 and 50,000 Palestinians without permits come to the occupied territories to work through holes in the controversial separation barrier, according to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.

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