Seven Israelis wounded by attacker
A Palestinian attacker wounded seven Israelis near a Tel Aviv nightclub early today, hitting a police checkpoint with a stolen taxi and then stabbing others, police said.
The attacker was a Palestinian in his 20s from the city of Nablus, according to Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri.
Just before 2am, the attacker stole a taxi in south Tel Aviv and then drove into a police checkpoint securing the street near a popular nightclub, she said.
He then got out of the car and stabbed passers-by, she said, while shouting “Allahu akbar” – Arabic for “God is great”, a phrase often used as a battle-cry by Islamic militants.
The wounded included four policemen and three civilians, Ms Samri said.
The attacker was arrested. He was injured and was taken to a hospital.
No further details were immediately available.
Such attacks inside Israel, once common, have fallen off in recent years as Israeli and Palestinian forces have restored security in the adjacent Palestinian territory of the West Bank.
But some violence has continued. One Israeli was killed in a similar attack with a vehicle in Tel Aviv in May.
