Israelis stabbed to death as they gather for prayers in Tel Aviv office building

A knife-wielding Palestinian stabbed two Israelis to death and wounded a third in a Tel Aviv office building on Thursday. The killer struck at a shop on the second floor of an office building in the southern part of the city where a group of Israelis had gathered to hold afternoon prayers. One of his bloodied victims staggered into a room where others were praying. They held him at bay as he tried to force his way in through the door. When he attempted to flee, he was tackled by civilians who subdued him until police arrived.

We were in the middle of prayers … a man fell upon us covered in blood, all cut up

Witness Shimon Vaknin

Police that the attacker was a 36-year-old Palestinian from the village of Dura near Hebron. He appeared to have no criminal record and it was not clear why he was in Tel Aviv. The attack was the latest in a two month outburst of tit-for-tat violence, stabbings and shootings, leaving dozens of Palestinians and Israelis dead. Until now, however, much of the violence has been focused on the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron and it is rare for it to spread to the economic hub of Tel Aviv.

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