Tel Aviv shooting prompts fears of wider cycle of violence

Latest in series of attacks by Palestinians heightens sense of reduced personal security in Israel

As Israelis reel from a Palestinian shooting at a Tel Aviv pub that killed three people, the government has threatened to strike back amid concerns of a broader escalation.

Security forces shot dead the lone attacker in the early hours of Friday after a manhunt by army troops, police and intelligence personnel. Residents of the city - Israel's commercial and entertainment capital - stayed off the streets in the aftermath of the attack, which has heightened a sense of reduced personal security across the country after three other attacks in the last two weeks.