Two Ukrainians Among Five Killed In Israel Attack, Police Say

The two Ukrainians killed in the March 29 attack in Bnei Brak had been in Israel for a while and were not war refugees, authorities said. 

Israeli police say two of the five men killed by a Palestinian gunman in the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak in an attack late on March 29 were Ukrainian nationals.

A police statement on March 30 identified those slain, noting that "a foreigner from Ukraine, aged 23," and "a foreigner from Ukraine, aged 32," were among them.

According to police, a 27-year-old Palestinian from a West Bank village had opened fire in the center of Bnei Brak, killing the Ukrainians as they sat outside a shop, before proceeding to kill two Israelis nearby.

A police officer who arrived at the scene was also shot dead, before Armashah was killed, police said.

Israel has a 15,000-strong Ukrainian community, but since Russia 's unprovoked invasion on February 24, the Jewish state has received nearly 20,000 refugees from Ukraine, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman said.

The two Ukrainians killed in the March 29 attack had been in Israel for a while and were not war refugees, authorities said.

The incident was the third fatal gun or knife attack in Israel in the past week.

The previous two attacks, carried out by Palestinian citizens of Israel who were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group, have raised concerns of further violence.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP