Tel Aviv lights municipality building with the Egyptian flag in a show of solidarity

The Tel-Aviv Municipality projected the flags of both Egypt and Israel onto its building over the weekend, in a show of solidarity with the victims of the heinous terror attack in Egypt, where at least 29 Christians were shot to death by unidentified gunmen. A resident of Tel Aviv stressed that Israelis feel sympathy with all people who suffer from terrorism, including the Egyptian people, whom are suffering from the rise of Islamic terrorism by the Sinai Brach of the Islamic State.

“It is obvious that it should be there, Tel Aviv is a cosmopolitan city, it represents Israel’s liberal mindset. We stand in solidarity with the Egyptian people and every people who suffers from terrorism. We hold their hand, because we know, we have been through it and we all yearn for peace together on earth and everywhere,” said Ori Coel, Tel Aviv Resident.

The attack occurred on Friday, when masked gunmen targeted a group of Christians travelling to a monastery in southern Egypt, killing at least 29 people and wounding some 22 others, with many children among the victims.

“They stopped the bus and shot the driver. They collected the gold and belongings of those in bus before asking for the ID cards to see if they are Christian or not. If they were Christian they were shot to the head,” said Samy Bekheet, Relative of victim.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, while vowing to step up their violence against all Christian communities across the region. In response to the attack, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the perpetrators, including the countries that harbor them, will not go unpunished, while directing Egypt’s Air Force to conduct strikes against Islamic State targets in both Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and the country’s western neighbor, Libya.

“What you saw today will not go unpunished. The camps that they came from, as I speak now, were struck greatly. Egypt will not hesitate, it will not hesitate to strike terrorist camps anywhere. I am saying this because here in Egypt we do not conspire against anyone and we do not work discreetly. We act clearly because we want to protect our people and we want to protect the Egyptian national security.” / “The countries that support terrorism and provide it with money and weapons and training should be punished. They should be punished. No reconciliation with them,” said Sisi.

President Sisi also took the opportunity to call on his American counterpart, Donald Trump, to step up his fight against “terrorism globally”, a much needed campaign the Egyptian President said was promised to him by President Trump.