begin quote from:
American stabbed to death, six others wounded, in Israel as Vice President Biden meets nearby with Israeli officials
| New York Daily News | - |
JERUSALEM
- Vice President Biden arrived in Israel on Tuesday for a two-day visit
that includes meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as
Palestinians unleashed a wave of attacks that killed an American tourist
near where Biden was visiting and ...
American fatally stabbed in Israel, his killer shot dead as Vice President Biden meets nearby with Israeli officials
BY Nancy Dillon
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Tuesday, March 8, 2016, 4:54 PM
- A
- A
- A
Palestinian Kills American Tourist as Biden Visits Tel Aviv
Inform
The unidentified American, described as a 29-year-old man, was attacked during the terror spree that engulfed the ancient Mediterranean port city of Jaffa.
The tourist reportedly died at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon.
Israeli Haaretz identified the stabber as West Bank resident Bashar Masalha, 22.
THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images Israeli security forces stand at the scene of a stabbing attack that killed an American.
A witness told Israeli Channel 2 he was playing guitar when he heard screaming and looked up to see the alleged stabber heading his way.
"I saw a man run at me with a knife, I ran at him with the guitar and smashed it in his head. He was so stunned and didn't know what to do with himself and then started running away," the witness identified only by his first name, Yishai, said.
Police said the assailant stabbed at least three people at the Jaffa port then ran toward the promenade and stabbed several more near the Manta Ray Restaurant before he was shot and killed.
Three other Palestinian suspects were killed Tuesday following separate attacks at various locations as far east at Jerusalem, authorities said.
THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images The violence took place near where Vice President Biden, left, was meeting with former Israeli President Shimon Peres.
Biden arrived in Israel on Tuesday for a two-day visit that includes meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
The Jaffa carnage took place as Biden was meeting with former Israeli President Shimon Peres at the Peres Center for Peace about a mile away.
Tuesday's terror wave came after more than five months of unrest involving near-daily clashes with Palestinians and civilians or security forces.
"I notified the vice president on the terrible incident that took place just a few hundred meters away from here in Jaffa," Peres said Tuesday.
"Terror leads to nowhere, neither to Arabs nor to us," Peres said, standing next to Biden.
@MickyRosenfeld via Twitter The knife used by an attacker who killed an American lies on the ground in Tel Aviv.
"The majority of the people know there is no alternative to the two state solution ... and we shall follow with all our strength and dedication to make from it a new reality," Peres added.
Biden's visit also was marred by a diplomatic spat with the White House involving the last-minute cancellation of a trip to Washington by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu was expected to visit this month on a trip coinciding with a pro-Israel group's annual summit, but an Israeli official has claimed he reconsidered due to the U.S. presidential primaries.
Netanyahu was accused of siding with former Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential campaign.
"It's a tumultuous primary season in the United States ... we don't want to inject ourselves into that tumultuous process," an official told the Associated Press.
AMIR COHEN/REUTERS Six others were wounded in the knifing spree.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it was unfortunate the administration first heard about the cancellation from media reports, rather than direct contact, but he declined to call the incident "a snub."
Relations between the U.S. and its closest Mideast ally suffered after President Obama struck a nuclear deal with Iran.
Still, Netanyahu's office struck a conciliatory tone earlier Tuesday saying it was "looking forward to the visit of Biden and discussing how we can meet the many challenges facing the region."
Biden is not expected to offer any new proposals during his trip to jumpstart the peace process in the long-simmering Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
No comments:
Post a Comment