Terror on Bastille Day

Terror Bastille DayFrench President Emmanuel Macron looks at his wife Brigitte, left, during a ceremony in Nice, southern France, Friday, July 14, 2017. Macron has arrived in the Riviera city of Nice for commemorations one year after the terror attack with a truck that killed 86 revelers. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Terror on Bastille Day

France is celebrating Bastille Day with US President Trump in attendance.  France also reminiscence the terror attack in Nice last year. There have also been several terrorist attacks today.

 

Two killed, several wounded in knife attack in Egyptian resort town

Two German tourists were killed and several other foreigners were injured when they were attacked by a man armed with a knife on a beach in the Egyptian city of Hurghada on Friday.

The perpetrator has been arrested and is being interrogated by the police, who try to figure out what the man’s motive has been.

In total, six tourists, all women, were injured in the attack, and two of them died of the injuries shortly after. Among the injured were tourists from Russia and the Czech Republic.

The perpetrator entered the private hotel beach by swimming from another public beach. He shouted in Arabic that Egyptans should stay away.

The attack happened just a few hours after five police were shot and killed by Islamists who opened fire on their car in Giza, near the Pyramids, just outside Cairo.

Hurghada is a popular seaside resort by the Red Sea. Many European tour operators ship thousands of tourists to the city, which are considered to be reasonably safe, even with the current unrest in Egypt.

Last time there was an attack in Hurghada was in January 2016 when three tourists, among them a Swede, were injured in a similar knife attack.

Five killed in shootout in Jerusalem’s Old Town

Two Israeli policemen and three Israeli Palestinians have been killed in a shootout in Jerusalem’s old town.

According to Israeli police, three armed Palestinians opened fire against police officers near the Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the old town of eastern Jerusalem.

The head of Israeli police, Roni Alsheikh, said the attackers came from within and were armed with two automatic rifles and a handgun.

Two police officers were killed and a police officer was injured. The attackers then ran into Haram al-Sharif again, one of the holiest places for the Abrahamic religions, which Jews refers to as the Temple Mount.

There they were cornered by Israeli security forces and shot and killed in the square where both the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Rock Mosque is situated.

Israeli palestinians

According to Israeli security service Shin Bet, the three attackers were Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, resident in Umm al-Fahm north of Israel, the newspaper Haaretz writes.

Haram al-Sharif is closed until Sunday, and Friday’s prayer was canceled as a result of the shooting while Israeli police cordoned the area in search of more weapons.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to assure all Muslims that Haram al-Sharif would be reopened and that the status of the area will not be changed.

Jordan demanded, however, that al-Aqsa is immediately re-opened so that people get the opportunity to conduct Friday prayers.

Abbas condemns

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the Israeli Prime Minister and condemned the attack, which in itself was very unusual as the two usually have little or no direct contact.

According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, Abbas distanced himself from “violence from all sides, especially in holy places.”

Israeli Minister of Security, Gilad Erdan, denounces Friday’s attack as “an extremely serious incident”.

– We must now reassess all security measures at Temple Mount and the surrounding areas, he says.

UN Secretary General António Guterres asked all parties to act responsible as Friday’s attack has the potential to trigger more violence.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Børge Brende, (Conservatives) assumes a similar stance.

– I condemn the shooting in Jerusalem on Friday morning. Peace and status quo in holy places must be preserved, wrote Brende on Twitter.

The Grand Mufti arrested

The head of the Muslims in Jerusalem, the Grand Mufti Ahmad Hussein, criticized Israel’s decision to hinder the Friday prayers in the al-Aqsa Mosque.

– I have very little information regarding this, but it should not lead to the mosque being closed for prayer, he told reporters at the Lion’s Gate.

Shortly after the Grand Mufti’s son informed that his father was arrested by Israeli police and taken in for questioning at the police station in the Old Town. A little later it was stated that he was released.

Friday Prayers cancelled

Tens of thousands Palestinians stream to the mosques there every week to pray.

After Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, the authorities have canceled Friday prayer only twice, according to the Head of prayers at Haram al-Sharif, Ikrema Sabri.

The Temple Mount is considered a sacred place for all Abrahamic believers, and the old town has been the scene of violence between Israelis and Palestinians on numerous occations.

Friday afternoon an 18-year-old Palestinian was shot in the chest and killed by Israeli soldiers in the refugee camp Dheisheh in Bethlehem on the occupied West Bank. According to the Israeli defense, this happened in connection with an arrest.

Nice remembers the victims of last year’s terrorist attacks

The residents of Nice are remembering the victims of terrorist attacks on Bastille Day last year when 86 people were killed.

President Emmanuel Macron and other representatives of the city and the country stood up when the National Anthem was played at Place Massena.

It is located not far from the Promenade des Anglais where Lahouiej Bouhlel used his hired truck to mowe down hundreds of people who had come to watch the fireworks at night.

During the memorial ceremony, police and civilians alike were decorated for their efforts to stop the terrorist.

Among them were the policemen Gaetan Roy and Magali Cotton who ran after Bouhlel as he drove through the crowd, caught up with, and eventually shot him.

Decorated was also Franck Terrier who threw his scooter under the truck and tried to make his way into the cab to stop the truck. Also decorated was Alexander Nigues, who grabbed the door handle and tried to get into the cab to stop the terrorist.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today