Adding to the relentless wave of terror attacks, a Palestinian terrorist stabbed three Israelis in Tel Aviv, murdering two of them.

A Palestinian terrorist stabbed three Israelis and murdered two of them in Tel Aviv on Thursday afternoon after they exited from praying in a synagogue.

The terrorist attacked and stabbed three Israelis outside the Or-El synagogue on Ben-Zvi Street in south Tel Aviv after they concluded their afternoon prayers, critically stabbing one of them in the neck and seriously wounding another victim. The third victim sustained moderate wounds.

Witnesses recounted how they rushed into the synagogue after the attack began and held the door shut while the terrorist tried to enter and carry on with his attack.

The terrorist was caught by passersby and was lightly wounded before being arrested by police who arrived at the scene. He was identified by the Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) as a 36-year-old Palestinian from the town of Dura, near Hebron. He has no known prior connections to terror, the Shin Bet said.

There were initial reports of a second terrorist who managed to flee the scene, and security forces launched a manhunt for further suspects, but a senior police officer later announced that they had no fears of a second terrorist and the searches were called off.

Emergency medical services treated the victims at the scene of the attack and then evacuated them to a hospital in the city. One victim died at the scene of the attack, while the second succumbed to his wounds at the hospital.

One murdered victim was identified as a man in his early 20s.

Assaf Zamir, Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv, called on the residents of the city to carry on with their daily routines while remaining vigilant, despite “the horrific attack.” He said that the municipality had no prior intelligence on this attack.

The last attack in Tel Aviv occurred on October 8 when a Palestinian terrorist attacked and lightly wounded five Israelis, including a female IDF soldier, with a screwdriver outside the Kirya IDF headquarters. The terrorist was shot and killed by an IDF soldier shortly after.

Several Attacks Thwarted

Earlier in the day, alert IDF soldiers were successful in thwarting an attempted infiltration by three knife-wielding Palestinian women into their base near Tekoa in the Gush Etzion area.

The three terrorists approached the base, but were chased away by IDF forces, who captured them shortly after. All three were carrying knives.

In another incident, police arrested a knife-carrying 16-year-old Palestinian at a checkpoint in Hebron. He revealed during his initial questioning that he had hoped to kill IDF soldiers.

These incidents were the latest in a long series of Palestinian terror attacks which have plagued Israelis over the course of the past two months, claiming the lives of 16 Israelis and wounding almost 170.

By: Max Gelber, United with Israel