A pleasant summer evening in Tel Aviv turned into a nightmare on Wednesday when two Palestinian terrorists opened fire on diners at the city's popular Sarona Market. Four Israelis were killed in the attack and seven were wounded, four of them seriously. The incident began around 9:30 p.m., when the terrorists, dressed in suits, suddenly stood up from their seats at a Max Brenner chocolate restaurant, took out guns and began shooting in every direction. Patrons at Max Brenner as well as at the adjacent Benedict restaurant were hit by the gunfire. "They ordered food, and there was nothing suspicious about them," one Max Brenner employee recounted later. "At a certain point, they simply stood up and began to shoot. They didn't yell anything." Once the terrorists ran out of bullets, dropped his weapon, and fled westward along the adjacent Haarbaa Street. He was pursued by police, who shot him next to the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. The terrorist was moderately wounded and was detained and transported to a hospital for treatment. Police were able to apprehend the second terrorist without opening fire. Tel Aviv District Police chief Moshe Edri said there had been no specific warnings of an impending attack in Tel Aviv. On Wednesday morning, the names of the slain Israelis were published. They were Ido Ben-Ari, 42, from Ramat Gan; Ilana Naveh, 39, from Tel Aviv; Michael Feige, 58, from Midreshet Ben-Gurion; and Mila Mishayev, 32, from Rishon Lezion. A woman identified only as Gali, who was sitting at the Max Brenner restaurant when the attack took place, described the actions of one of the terrorists. "He fired shot after shot, with deliberation and careful aim," she said. "He had an icy look on his face. Everyone ran hysterically in all directions, leaving their belongings behind. I ran frantically without my sandals on toward the Azrieli Center. I didn't look back." Meital Sassi was at Sarona with her son to celebrate his birthday. "I was less than a meter from one of the terrorists," she said. "I screamed at people to flee and I ran. It was a terrible experience." Tel Aviv-Jaffa Mayor Ron Huldai said, "This was a tough night for our city. We were once again targeted by indiscriminate terrorism. I ask the public to remain calm. We will continue to live, create, build and have fun in this city. Terrorism will not defeat us. Tomorrow, life will get back to normal." Following the attack, security was tightened throughout Tel Aviv. Shlomi Hajaj, the CEO of Sarona Market, said, "We witnessed a tragic and grave event. Sarona Market is a central location in Tel Aviv. We are accustomed to terrorism in this city, and now it has reached us here." Hajaj said there had been no warning before the attack. "We have a very high level of security," he said, noting that the attack took place on the perimeter of the market, not inside it. Hajaj said security guards prevented the terrorists from entering the market, thwarting even more killings. After security consultations overseen by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of the attack, the military said it was rescinding some 83,000 permits issued to Palestinians from Judea and Samaria to visit relatives in Israel during Ramadan. It was decided further to freeze all 204 working permits issued to family members of the two terrorists in custody. Restrictions placed on Gazans, which were also eased ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, were reimposed.
Credit: Reuters
The terrorists were identified as 21-year-olds Muhammad and Khalid Muhamra, cousins from the Palestinian village of Yatta, near the city of Hebron in Judea.
