Israel has seen one of its bloodiest days in months, with two Israelis stabbed to death in Tel Aviv and three other people killed in a shooting attack in the West Bank.
An Israeli man, a Palestinian man, and a teenage American tourist and were all killed on Thursday evening when an Palestinian gunman opened fire from his car before ramming it into another vehicle.
The attack took place in the Israeli settlement of Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, and came just hours after a Palestinian man fatally stabbed two Israelis outside an office building in Tel Aviv.
The assailants in both attacks were arrested by Israeli security forces.
The deaths of three Israelis and two other civilians makes for one of the highest daily death tolls since the latest round of violence began in October.
Palestinian attackers, armed with knives and cars and occasionally guns, have attacked Israeli troops and civilians on a near daily basis.
Israel has responded with road blocks and night raids in the occupied West Bank and in Palestinian East Jerusalem.
Thursday’s killings brings the Israeli death toll to 17 since October 1, according to the Israeli government.
At least 82 Palestinians have been killed in the same time period, of which Israel says 52 were attackers. The Palestinian Authority says a number of Palestinian civilians have been killed in both Gaza and the West Bank.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said it was “blindness and hypocrisy” to not condemn attacks against Israeli with the same vehemence as the massacre in Paris.
“Whoever condemned the attacks in France needs to condemn the attacks in Israel. It’s the same terror. Whoever does not do this is a hypocrite and blind,” he said.
He vowed to continue Israel’s policy of demolishing the homes of the families of Palestinian attackers. Human rights group have criticised the policy as illegal collective punishment.
Thursday’s violence began with the stabbings outside of an office building prayer room. Two Israeli men were killed and several others wounded. One victim reportedly staggered bleeding into the prayer room in front of shocked worshippers.
The attacker is reported to be a 36-year-old Palestinian man from the West Bank, who had an Israeli work permit and was employed at a Tel Aviv restaurant. He was arrested on the scene.
Hamas, the Islamist group which controls Gaza, praised the attack as “a heroic operation”. The group has condemned the massacre in Paris.
Hours later, a Palestinian man with a submachine gun opened fire during a traffic jam at the Gush Etzion settlement. He then smashed his car into another vehicle.
An 18-year-old American tourist was reportedly killed in the attack along with an Israeli man and a Palestinian man. Several other people were wounded.
The attacker was arrested by Israeli troops.
