Bahrain, UAE offer condolences to Israel over Tel Aviv attack

Bahrain on Friday condemned the attack that took place in Tel Aviv late on Thursday, describing it as a "terrorist operation" and offering condolences to the families of the victims and the Israeli government.

"We reiterate the Kingdom of Bahrain's position that opposes all forms of terrorism and violence no matter the motives and the justifications", the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Later, the United Arab Emirates embassy in Israel tweeted its condemnation of the attack, offering condolences to the families of the victims.

The #UAE Embassy in #TelAviv strongly condems the terrorist attack which took place in #Dizingoff center and expresses its condolences to the families of the victims of this dreadful act- may their memory be blessed- and we wish a speedy recovery to all those injured.

— UAE Embassy in Israel (@UAEinIsrael) April 8, 2022

Both countries formally established relations with Israel in 2020 as part of the controversial US-brokered Abraham Accords that also included Morocco, which drew wide condemnation from Palestinians, as Israel continues to occupy the West Bank and besiege the Gaza Strip.

The countries maintain that they were motivated by the economic benefits of ties with Israel, despite opposition from Palestinians and much of the Arab nations.

A Palestinian who killed two people in a Tel Aviv bar late on Thursday was shot dead by Israeli security forces on Friday after an hours-long manhunt through the city. 

Israel's Shin Bet security agency named the attacker as Raad Hazem, 28, from Jenin in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Israeli army killed a second Palestinian man on Saturday in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin and wounded five others according to AFP, after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett gave security agencies "full freedom" of operation.

The incident was among a surge of violence in Israel and the West Bank since late March, where several people- mostly Palestinians- have been killed.