At least four people were stabbed during a terror attack on Tuesday evening on Nahalat Binyamin Street in Tel Aviv.
Police confirmed the attack as terror following an initial investigation. They went on to say the attacker stabbed three people on Nahalat Binyamin Street, followed by a fourth person on nearby Gruzenberg Street.
Israeli media reported that an American residency permit and border control ticket were found on the body of the attacker. They showed that the attacker was a Moroccan citizen with American permanent residency and had entered Israel on a tourist visa on January 18.
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel said that border control officers at Ben Gurion Airport refused to let in the terrorist and demanded that an investigation be opened into the matter. Shin Bet agents overruled the decision and permitted him to enter Israel, according to reports in Israeli media.
According to Arbel, officers "transferred him to security officials for questioning, who unfortunately decided to allow his entry into Israel." The minister called on Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Ronen Bar "to investigate the serious incident and draw lessons from it as soon as possible."
Medics and paramedics are providing medical treatment to two wounded 24-year-olds and a 59-year-old man in light condition, Magen David Adom said following the incident.
The attacker was shot, with multiple eyewitnesses reporting gunfire in the area.
Attacker neutralized
Police confirmed that the attacker had been killed. The attacker was reportedly shot by civilians.
Tel Aviv District Commander Asst.-Ch. Haim Sargaroff that "from his perspective, the incident is over. There were many [conflicting] reports. I can say that there was one terrorist. There are no others."
Commissioner Danny Levy said, "There was a quick response by soldiers who neutralized the terrorist, as is expected of the security forces."
This is a developing story.
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.