Islamic State claims killing of 2 in Israel, 2nd rampage in a week

The militant Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a shooting in central Israel that police say killed two people and wounded four

The militant Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Monday, March 28, 2022, after a pair of Arab gunmen killed two people and wounded four in central Israel before they were killed by police.

The two killed in the Sunday night attack in the city of Hadera were Israeli police officers, authorities said.

It was the second deadly attack carried out by Arab assailants in an Israeli city in less than a week ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. On Tuesday, a lone attacker inspired by the Islamic State group killed four people in a stabbing rampage in southern Israel before he was killed by passersby, police said.

The attacks threatened to cast a shadow over a gathering of foreign ministers in the Negev desert, where the Iranian nuclear deal was expected to top the agenda. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett rushed to the scene of the shootings in Hadera.

The Islamic State group in a posting on its Aamaq news agency claims responsibility for the attack, saying two IS members killed two Israeli security forces.

“The heart breaks” over the attacks, Mr. Bennett said Monday. The Israeli premier issued the statement from home, after testing positive for the coronavirus. He urged people to be vigilant. Police were expected to set up checkpoints on major roads Tuesday.

Ramadan is expected to begin on Saturday. Last year, clashes between Israeli police and Muslim protesters during the holy month boiled over into an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers.