A visit by the American Vice President Joe Biden aimed at fostering peace and mending fences with the Jewish state of Israel and also discussing means with which to curb Palestinian violence didn’t go according to plan as an American tourist was viciously stabbed to death in a terror attack in Tel Aviv.
Palestinian attackers shot and stabbed a dozen policemen and civilians in separate assaults around Israel, keeping up a trend of daily attacks and incidences that can be traced as far back as October of 2015.
Part of Biden’s mission was to smooth over the latest bump in relations between the Obama White House and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a public falling out over the Iran nuclear deal last year. Biden will meet with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday to discuss military aid, a session that comes on the heels of the prime minister cancelling a trip to Washington.
Biden arrived in Tel Aviv and was even reported as being just a few hundred metres from the attack. The American tourist who died in the attack was a 29-year-old man traveling with his wife who was also one of five seriously injured.
It was the latest in a wave of Palestinian attacks that have killed 28 Israelis, mostly in shootings, stabbings and assaults with cars. At least 174 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire during that time. Most were attackers and the rest were killed in clashes, Israel says.
The White House said Israel had proposed two dates for a meeting between the leaders and the U.S. had offered to meet on one of those days. “We were looking forward to hosting the bilateral meeting,” said Ned Price, a spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council. “We were surprised to first learn via media reports that the prime minister, rather than accept our invitation, opted to cancel his visit.”
It was a tragic incident that has stemmed from senseless violence, it is hoped that an amicable resolution is found soon.