TEL AVIV – A 19-year old man armed with a knife begins stabbing people at random in a busy public area. After rampaging down several city streets and attacking passersby, the assailant is subdued by police but not before he murders one civilian and injures five others.
The mayhem in central London last night resembles the bloody scenes regularly played out here during the ongoing so-called Palestinian wave of violence in Tel Aviv and in cities and towns across the Jewish state.
Authorities have yet to confirm a terrorist motivation in the Russell Square attacks, but the carnage resembles the time-tested Palestinian tactic of terrorist stabbings at busy civilian locales.
Such jihadi stabbing attacks have become legion here, sometimes occurring several times per week, although the frequency has slowed in recent months due in large part to Israeli anti-terrorism measures.
In last night’s attack, a Norwegian national of Somali origin selected his victims at random in what Scotland Yard has described as a “spontaneous” rampage.
Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley told reporters that “so far we have found no evidence of radicalization that would suggest that the man in our custody is in any way motivated by terrorism.”
Instead, Rowley pointed the finger at “mental health issues,” saying the investigation is increasingly leading in that direction.
Supporters of the Islamic State celebrated the bloodbath on an IS-linked social media channel.
If the Russell Square attack was indeed motivated by terrorism, it would mark the second time in recent weeks that a Palestinian terrorist tactic was deployed on the streets of Europe.
Last month, the terrorist gunman who killed 84 people and wounded over 300 others during Bastille Day celebrations in the French Riviera city of Nice seemed to have taken a page out of the Palestinian jihadist playbook of vehicular terrorism.
In addition to terror stabbings, for several years now, Palestinian terrorists have deployed the deadly tactic of plowing vehicles into pedestrians and then attempting to continue their assaults with stabbings or shootings.
Only last month, a Palestinian man attempted a car-ramming attack against Israel Border Police officers near Jerusalem.
A week and a half earlier, three IDF soldiers were lightly wounded in another Palestinian car-ramming incident.
Last June, a Palestinian woman lightly wounded two Israelis in a car-ramming attack.
Such vehicular attacks and attempted attacks have become almost a routine throughout the Palestinian “wave of terror” targeting Israelis for over a year now.
Moreover, Palestinians have been utilizing the bloody tactic for at least eight years, with assailants at times using heavy vehicles such as tractors.
One attack that mirrors the carnage in Nice was a December 2015 car-ramming in which a Palestinian plowed his vehicle into a large group of people at the entrance to Jerusalem, wounding fourteen, including an infant. The terrorist, in that case, was shot and killed, and an ax was discovered in his car, meaning he likely intended to exit the vehicle and continue his onslaught.
As far back as July 2008, a Palestinian terrorist driving a large construction vehicle plowed into cars and pedestrians in central Jerusalem, killing three people and wounding more.
Meanwhile, Palestinian terrorist stabbings continue full speed ahead. Over the weekend, a Palestinian attempted to carry out a stabbing attack but was shot dead before he could do so.
The same Europe that routinely condemns Israel for fighting terrorism should recognize that the export of Palestinian terror tactics now seems to be hitting European cities.
Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.
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