Bennett Invites Texas Governor to Visit Israel

By i24
Posted on 01/16/22 | News Source: i24

Israeli Prime Minister thanks governor for 'determined and professional action' of law enforcement

Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday night about the hostage situation at a synagogue in the US state that ended with all four captives released and the gunman dead.

Bennett thanked Abbott "for the determined and professional action of the law enforcement forces in his country which brought the incident to a peaceful conclusion," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

According to the readout of the call, the prime minister said that Israelis were paying close attention to the events as they unfolded at Beth Israel, a Reform congregation located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex city of Colleyville.

Bennett invited the governor to visit Israel and the two agreed to stay connected.

US authorities on Sunday named 44-year-old British citizen Malik Faisal Akram as the hostage-taker in Saturday's 11-hour standoff.

President Joe Biden on Sunday at an event in Philadelpha told reporters that the attack was an "act of terror."

One of the hostages was freed in the evening, according to police. Later in the night an elite FBI hostage rescue team breached the building and rescued the remaining captives, including the rabbi, according to local and federal officials. 

Authorities said that the lone suspect, Akram, died at the end of the incident.