On 8 March 2016, a 21-year-old

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

man from

Qalqilya Qalqilya or Qalqiliya () is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, which serves as the administrative center of the Qalqilya Governorate. The city had a population of 51,683 in 2017. Qalqilya is surrounded by the Israeli West Bank barrier, Israeli We ...

killed an American tourist and wounded ten civilians in a stabbing spree in

Jaffa Port Jaffa Port (, ; , ) is an ancient port situated on the Mediterranean Sea. It is located in Old Jaffa within Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Israel. The port serves as a fishing harbour, a yacht harbour, and as a tourist destination. It offers a variety of cul ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, Israel. The attacker was shot dead by the police after a chase along the beach promenade.

Attack

The attack happened while US Vice President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

was meeting with former Israeli President

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

in Tel Aviv. According to police, the assailant first attacked persons in the harbor and later went to a restaurant where four more persons were wounded. According to ambulance personnel, five of the victims suffered serious wounds. The attack lasted approximately 20 minutes and ended when the assailant was shot and killed by responding police.

Victims

Taylor Force, age 28, graduated from the

New Mexico Military Institute New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) is a public military junior college and high school in Roswell, New Mexico. Founded in 1891, NMMI operates under the auspices of the State of New Mexico, under a dedicated Board of Regents that reports t ...

and from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 2009 and later became an officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

until leaving in 2014. While in the army, Force served in both

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, participating in

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

, Operation New Dawn, and

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

. At the time of the attack Force, an MBA student, was traveling with other graduate students from Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management studying global entrepreneurship. In addition to Force, eleven others were injured, including a pregnant woman, an Arab Israeli, and a Palestinian who was illegally residing in Israel.

Assailant

The attacker was identified as 21-year-old Bashar Masalha, who was from the city of

located in the

Palestinian territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine ...

. He was residing in Israel illegally. The family of the murderer receives a monthly pension from the

Palestinian Authority Martyr's Fund The Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund is a financial program operated by the Palestinian Authority (PA). It operates through two main channels: The Foundation for the Care of the Families of Martyrs that provides monthly financial support to the ...

equal to several times the average monthly wage in the Palestinian Territories.

Aftermath

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced on the night of the attacks that it was imposing closures on the West Bank villages of Zawiya and Al-Auja, the hometowns of two of the attackers. Following the attack and the two other attacks, Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

held security consultations with Israeli Defense Minister

Moshe Ya'alon Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon (; born Moshe Smilansky; 24 June 1950) is an Israeli politician and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, who also served as Israel's Defense Minister under Benjamin Netanyahu from 2013 until his resignation ...

, Internal Security Minister

Gilad Erdan Gilad Menashe Erdan ( ; born 30 September 1970) is an Israeli politician and diplomat who served as Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations from 2020 through 2024. Erdan previously served as Ambassador of Israel to the United ...

, police chief Roni Alsheikh and IDF and

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...

officials. The Prime Minister's Office said it was immediately decided to close gaps in the

separation barrier A separation barrier or separation wall is a Barricade, barrier, wall or fence, constructed to limit the movement of people across a certain line or border, or to ethnic segregation, separate peoples or cultures. A separation barrier that runs a ...

in the Jerusalem area, and to complete construction of the barrier in the Tarqumiyah area in the South Hebron Hills. It was also decided to close Palestinian media outlets accused of incitement. Professionals in the defense establishment will decide which Palestinian media will be closed. Further, it was decided to deny work permits for family members of assailants. The Israeli police began a law enforcement operation to crack down on Palestinian illegal residents, arresting more than 250 illegal Arabs across the country, but focused on construction sites and large shopping areas, which normally are magnets for cheap, cash-in-the-hand labor. The arresting officers discovered a small compound, complete with sleeping tents, showers, a lavatory and a kitchen, which illegal Arab workers had erected in HaBesor Stream in southern Israel, not far from the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

. Police reported that 15 Israeli employers and 12 drivers were arrested by 10 March. According to a Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee from 14 March, chaired by MK David Amsalem (

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

), out of the 73 Palestinian attacks that occurred within the Green Line, 27 were carried out by illegal Arab residents. Police noted that each year sees tens of thousands of cases of illegal Arab residents, who are brought before a judge when their stay involves security risks, which means that there are tens of thousands of illegal Arabs moving freely everywhere inside Israel, some of whom may be "terrorist ticking bombs".

Taylor Force Act

The Taylor Force Act is a legislative bill co-sponsored in the United States Senate in 2016 by U.S. Senators

Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...

(R-South Carolina),

Dan Coats Daniel Ray Coats (born May 16, 1943) is an American politician, attorney, and diplomat. From 2017 to 2019, he served as the Director of National Intelligence in the Trump administration. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a Unite ...

(R-Indiana), and

Roy Blunt Roy Dean Blunt (born January 10, 1950) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Missouri from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he pre ...

(R-Missouri). The legislation proposes to stop American economic aid to the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

until the PA changes its laws to cease paying stipends funneled through the so-called

to individuals who commit acts of terrorism and to the families of deceased terrorists. On March 23, 2018, the Act was signed into law by U.S. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

Reactions

The attack was condemned by Israel and the United States. It was praised by the Palestinian organizations

Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

, and the

Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (, ''Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn''), commonly known simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinians, Palestinian Islamism, Islamist paramilitary organization formed in 1981. P ...

Notes

References

External links

US student Taylor Force killed in terror attack

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (; ) is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's role is to implement Israel's foreign policy, and promote economic, cultural, and scientific relations with other co ...

Message from Chancellor Zeppos on student death in Israel

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tel Aviv stabbings 2010s crimes in Tel Aviv American people murdered abroad American terrorism victims Attacks on tourists in Asia Deaths by stabbing in Israel Mass stabbings in Tel Aviv 2016 crimes in Israel 2016 murders in Israel Murdered American students Palestinian political violence Stabbing attacks in 2016 Terrorism deaths in Israel Terrorist incidents in Israel in 2016 Terrorist incidents in Tel Aviv Knife attacks in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict March 2016 crimes in Asia March 2016 in Asia Murder in Tel Aviv