“We stand with our friends in New York and all Americans following yet another horrible Islamist terror attack,” Netanyahu tells Trump.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a message of support to US President Donald Trump, stating that Israel “stands with our friends in New York and all Americans following yet another horrible Islamist terror attack. We pray for the victims and their families. Together we will defeat this scourge.”
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon expressed his condolences to US Ambassador Nikki Haley following the Islamic terror attack in New York, which left eight dead and scores wounded.
“Just as the US has always stood by our side in our times of need, Israel will always stand with America in the fight against terror,” Danon stated.
He conveyed Israel’s condolences to the families of those killed and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.
The terrorist, 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov originally of Uzbekistan, mowed down pedestrians and cyclists along a busy bike path near the World Trade Center memorial on Tuesday, killing at least eight and seriously injuring 11 in what the mayor called “a particularly cowardly act of terror.”
The driver was shot in the abdomen by police after jumping out of the truck with what turned out to be a fake gun in each hand and shouting what witnesses said was “Allahu Akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” authorities said.
The man underwent surgery and was in critical condition but was expected to survive.
The driver in Tuesday’s attack barreled along the bike path in a rented Home Depot truck for the equivalent of about 14 blocks, or around eight-tenths of a mile, before slamming into a small yellow school bus. The mayhem and the burst of police gunfire set off panic in the neighborhood and left the pavement strewn with mangled bicycles and bodies that were soon covered with sheets.
“I saw a lot of blood over there. A lot of people on the ground,” said Chen Yi, an Uber driver.
A police bomb squad scoured the truck but found no explosives.
“This was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians, aimed at people going about their lives who had no idea what was about to hit them,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
New York and other cities around the globe have been on high alert against attacks by terrorists in vehicles. The Islamic State (ISIS) terror group has been exhorting its followers to mow down people, and England, France and Germany have seen deadly vehicle attacks in the past year or so.
On Twitter, President Donald Trump called it “another attack by a very sick and deranged person” and declared, “NOT IN THE U.S.A.!”
Trump railed against ISIS, tweeting, “We must not allow ISIS to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere. Enough!”
Two law enforcement officials said a note was recovered inside the truck. One official said the note was handwritten in a foreign language, possibly Arabic.
The contents were being investigated, but the officials said the document supported the belief the act was terrorism.
By: United with Israel Staff
AP contributed to this report.
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