The scene of the attack at Tel Aviv’s beach promenade on Friday. Photo by Tomer Appelbaum

A 35-year-old Italian tourist was killed and seven were wounded in a ramming attack at Tel Aviv’s beach promenade on Friday night, emergency services reported. The attacker was shot dead. According to police, he was identified as 44-year-old Yousef Abu Jaber from the Israeli Arab city of Kafr Qasem.

The Italian Foreign Ministry identified the 35-year-old victim as Alessandro Parini. According to Italian newspaper “La Repubblica,” Parini was a resident of Rome, and worked as a lawyer.

According to the police, at 9:35 p.m. the attacker drove southbound on the road adjacent to Tel Aviv’s beach promenade, before veering right and driving at speed on the bike lane for around 100 meters, hitting eight pedestrians and bicyclists before rolling over on the lawn of the Charles Clore Park.

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At this point, a police officer and a municipal ranger arrived at the scene, and as they noticed the attacker attempted to reach a rifle-like object that was with him, they shot at him and killed him.

According to a police source, no weapon was found in Jaber’s vehicle, but rather a toy gun. Tel Aviv District Commander Ami Eshed said that police are looking into the possibility that this was not a terror attack. The Shin Bet security service are also involved in the investigation.

Five other people who were injured in the attack, all Italian and British citizens, were evacuated to hospital. Three are in moderate condition, including a 74-year-old-man, a 39-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl. The other two victims, a man aged 50 and a woman aged 70 were lightly wounded. Two more people, a 31-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman, were lightly wounded and treated at the scene. Four of the wounded were released from hospital Friday morning.

The attacker was shot by a police officer and a civilian inspector.

‘Inconceivable’

The Kafr Qasem Popular Committee announced Friday that it strongly condemns the attack, sending condolences to the victim’s family and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured. “We condemn any harm to the lives of innocent people and call for tolerance from all sides. This is not the way of the residents of Kafr Qasem. The city was and remains a place for coexistence and the pursuit of peace,” the committee said.

A relative of the assailant told Haaretz that “we cannot believe he did such a thing, it’s inconceivable that Yousef, a very quiet and respectful person, would do it. We are in total shock and if we had known in advance that he’d do it then we would have prevented it. He never showed any radical signs, and he’s never had any ideological background.”

According to police, Abu Jaber was not affiliated with any terror group, but was arrested in 2017 following a fight that broke out in Kafr Qasem. Police and Shin Bet forces arrived at his family’s home in the city on Thursday night, conducted a search and interrogated some of the residents. Some of the family members were taken to the police station for further questioning.

The attacker was married and was a father of five daughters.

The Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the attack is a “natural and legitimate response to the crimes of the occupation against the Palestinian people,” adding that it happened on the one-year anniversary of the terror attack at a bar on Dizengoff street in Tel Aviv.

Magen David Adom medic Yosef Kurdi, who was first on the scene, told Haaretz that he saw an overturned car and a 17-year-old girl lying next to it, fully conscious, with bruises. Near her, he found the 35-year-old victim and pronounced him dead. According to police, he was killed by the ramming and not by shooting.

A witness who was present at the site told Haaretz that a vehicle sped up and entered a nearby gas station. “The gun shots started right after that, after which he turned rightwards and rolled over,” he said.

Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv, told Channel 12 News that the attack “is a part of our daily life for a long time”, adding that “nothing will help. The enemy feels our weakness. I hope the prime minister will return to himself, and take care of what he promised to – personal safety, the economy and Iran. And that he’ll get off his crazy attempt to turn Israel into something it is not.”

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