Terror Attack in Israel Leaves 4 Dead

• By Sydny Shepard
• Jun 09, 2016

Four people were killed when two gunman open fired at an upscale market in Tel Aviv, Israel on Wednesday, June 8.

In total, 13 people suffered gunshot wounds, according to Israel’s national emergency medical service. Four people, including one suspect, are still being treated at hospitals, Israeli Police say.

Israeli police say the two suspects were captured, one was shot by police and the other surrendered. The attackers were dressed as Hasidic Jews, a law enforcement source said.

The suspects have been identified as Palestinians from a village in the southern West Bank, near the city of Hebron. Both are in their 20’s.

The Islamic Group Hamas has praised the attack in a statement, though they did not claim responsibility for it.

Sarona Market, where the shooting happened, is a mixed-use development with a food hall, upscale retail, playgrounds, green space and residences on a central highway across from Israel’s Defense Ministry and main army headquarters.

The market, closely structured to an American mall, is considered a “classic soft target” and is nearly impossible to secure, according to Steve Moore, a CNN law enforcement analysis.

The Jerusalem Post reported in April that the Tel Aviv police wanted to close the market because of “security flaws and safety shortcomings that present a risk to the public’s safety.” A spokesperson for the market, explained the security shortcomings to be table and chair arrangements that were blocking doors and the way security guards were inspecting visitors at the door.

Israeli authorities have announced that they have frozen 83,000 entry permits for Palestinians, including all permits for Ramadan and some for family visits from the West Bank to Israel, in light of the attack.

This is only one of a string of incidents that have happened in Tel Aviv this year, including the January 1 shooting where two people died and a March stabbing where an American was killed and 10 other people were wounded along an oceanfront boardwalk.