Tel Aviv, Sep 8 (IANS): A few hours after a terrorist shot and killed three Israelis at the border crossing between West Bank and Jordan on Sunday, Israel' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country is surrounded by a murderous ideology that is led by "Iran's axis of evil".
"This is a difficult day. An abhorrent terrorist murdered three of our citizens in cold blood at the Allenby Bridge. On behalf of the Government and myself, I send condolences to the families of those who were murdered," said Netanyahu as he chaired a government meeting.
"We are surrounded by a murderous ideology led by Iran's axis of evil. In recent days, abhorrent terrorists murdered six of our hostages and three Israel Police officers in cold blood. The murderers do not differentiate between us. They want to murder us all, right and left, secular and religious, Jews and non-Jews, until the last one," he added.
According to the Israeli defence authorities, a terrorist approached the area of the Allenby Bridge from Jordan in a truck, exited the truck, and opened fire at the Israeli security forces operating at the bridge.
"The terrorist was eliminated by the security forces, three Israeli civilians were pronounced dead as a result of the attack. IDF soldiers were dispatched to the scene and are currently operating to rule out the suspicion of the truck being rigged with explosives, further details to follow," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) posted on X.
Hailing the efforts of security agencies and their heroism, Netanyahu said that it is the strength of the State of Israel and the power of the IDF which, unlike the past, is preventing further destruction even as massive efforts are underway to divide and sow discord among the people of the country.
"Last weekend, the German newspaper Bild published an official Hamas document that revealed its action plan: To sow discord among us, to use psychological warfare on the hostages' families, to apply internal and external political pressure on the Government of Israel, to tear us apart from within, and to continue the war until further notice, until Israel is defeated," the Israeli PM commented.
"The great majority of Israel's citizens are not falling into this Hamas trap. They know that we are fully committed to achieving the objectives of the war: To eliminate Hamas, to return all of our hostages, to ensure that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel and to return our residents in the north and south securely to their homes," he added.