1-2 people have been shot and wounded by a gunman with a Kalashnikov-type rifle, according to French media, who has taken the hostage at the Hypercasher supermarket in Vincennes.

French media has now begun to report that there are 5 hostages there, including women and children, but this has not been officially confirmed.

Dozens of policemen, heavily armed and with riot gear, are making their way toward the supermarket now (update: 2:45 pm IST), and were joined shortly thereafter by negotiating teams (3:00 pm IST).

This crisis may be connected to Thursday’s shooting of a policewoman and another victim outside of Paris, in the Montrouge suburb, according to France 24.

He reportedly told police that they “know” who he is and has been linked to the suspects in the Charlie Hebdo shooting.

France has seen a sharp rise in anti-Semitism in recent years, and it flared particularly in 2014 and during Operation Protective Edge, with violent protests in Paris.

In one incident, hundreds of Muslim extremists attacked a major synagogue in Paris, provoking clashes with Jewish youths who rushed to defend the site and worshippers trapped inside.

At the beginning of December there was a shocking robbery and rape attack committed against a young Jewish couple in Paris, which led French politicians to condemn the steep rise of anti-Semitism.

Weeks later, automatic gunfire was sprayed at the David Ben Ichay synagogue on Paris’s 3 Danjon Street. A similar incident occurred against a kosher restaurant in the French capital shortly thereafter.

France led the list of countries from which Jews made aliyah to Israel in 2014, with almost 7,000 new French immigrants, more than double the 3,400 who came last year.

Live & ongoing Details to follow….

View original Arutz Sheva publication at: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/189733#.VK_TxnukE8I