Four people killed and more injured in knife attack at shopping centre in Israel

FOUR people have been killed by a knife wielding maniac in Israel before he was shot dead, police said. Police said the Arab attacker drove his car into a cyclist and stabbed five people in the southern city of Beersheba. AFPPolice at the site of the horror[/caption] Amateur video footage posted online appeared to show armed bystanders shooting and killing the attacker at the scene. Israel police chief Kobi Shabtai that the incident was an abominable killing spree by a terrorist known to security services who had previously served prison time. He said the attacker appeared to have acted alone. Shabtai declined to comment further on the suspect, but Israeli media identified the attacker as a 34-year-old Arab man from the nearby Bedouin town of Hura. Reports said he was imprisoned for four years after admitting he intended to join the Islamic State group in Syria in 2015. Omer Barlev, the minister in charge of police, wrote on Twitter that the attack was committed by a cursed terrorist that it would have been better if he hadn’t been freed from prison in 2019. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett issued a statement of condolences to the families of the victims and said we will work with a heavy hand against those who commit terror. Palestinians have been accused in dozens of stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks targeting Israeli civilians and security personnel in recent years. In the Gaza Strip, some Palestinians were seen distributing sweets to express happiness following the attack and Hamas militant spokesman, Hazem Qassem, praised the attack.