Taylor Force, a graduate student at Vanderbilt University, was killed Tuesday in an attack near the seaside city of Jaffa, where Biden was meeting nearby with Israel’s former president.
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Vice President Joe Biden condemned Tuesday’s Palestinian terror attack. He is meeting both Israeli and Palestinian leaders and there have been speculations he would try to revive the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Biden called on the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, stressing the importance of a two-state solution.
One possibility under discussion is to issue an outline of a deal to end the almost 70-year-old conflict on such matters as borders, security, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
Israeli police said the woman moved toward border police officers, pulled a knife from her bag and sought to stab them near Damascus Gate, the main entrance used by Palestinians to enter the walled Old City where several attacks have occurred. Police said the Palestinian attacker followed Azarihab into the shop, pulled out a knife and began stabbing him multiple times to the upper body in a “frenzied attack”.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says initially, passengers on a bus spotted the two gunmen and heard shots fired.
Palestinians seek diplomatic and economic recognition for their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip.
As part of moves to curb the violence, Israel’s government decided on Wednesday “to complete immediately construction of the barrier around Jerusalem and build a new stretch” in a sector near the West Bank hotspot of Hebron, according to a government statement.
Police said the assailant was “neutralized”. Israel says it is fueled by a campaign of Palestinian incitement compounded on social media sites that glorify and encourage attacks. Most of the Palestinians have been identified by Israel as attackers, while the rest were killed in clashes with security forces.
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Senior Palestinian official Ahmed Majdalani said he was expecting “nothing” from Biden’s visit.
