5 Israeli settlers killed in shooting incident near Tel Aviv

Israeli police work near a covered body in the town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv, March 29, 2022. (Photo by AP)

A motorcycle-riding gunman reportedly kills at least five illegal Israeli settlers in an attack in the town of Bnei Brak east of Tel Aviv before getting killed himself.

"We unfortunately have to note that five people have died," said Eli Bin, the head of the Magen David Adom emergency responders, AFP reported.

Israeli media outlets said the attacker opened fire on the settlers using a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

The reports identified the attacker as a 26-year-old Palestinian, who had done time in Israeli jails due to his membership in the Palestinian Fatah movement.

The Israeli police said officers fatally shot the gunman.

Another shooting incident was, meanwhile, reported in the city of Ramat Gan, which is likewise located near Tel Aviv.

Israeli authorities have reportedly asked Bnei Brak and Ramat Gan’s settlers to stay at home.

The incidents came only two days after gunmen killed two Israelis in the city of Hadera in the northern part of the occupied territories before being gunned down themselves by undercover Israeli police officers.

Tensions have been running high across the Palestinian territories since last month, when Israeli forces and illegal settlers renewed their attacks on Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the holy city of al-Quds.

The neighborhood has been the scene of frequent crackdowns by Israeli regime forces on the Palestinians protesting against the threatened expulsion of more than a dozen families from their homes in favor of Israeli settler groups.