Palestinian incitement sees violence as a good thing. Illustrative banner of terrorists and Dome of the Rock. By Joshua Spurlock
An Arab terrorist who opened fire at a pub and killed three Israelis in Tel Aviv on New Year’s Day was himself killed in a shootout with Israeli security forces a week after the initial attack. Israeli Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said on his Twitter feed that the terrorist was found in the north of Israel and opened fire on the police. No officers were injured in the firefight.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in comments released by his office after the shootout late last week, said, “All those who would murder Israelis should know that sooner or later we will find them, inside and outside the borders of the State of Israel. No one is immune. We will find the murderers and their accomplices.” Palestinian terror groups praised the dead shooter as a “martyr” according to the Ma’an News Agency.
The Palestinian news group reported that a smaller terror group in Gaza held a symbolic funeral for the terrorist, and Hamas went so far as to call him “a beacon for the [Palestinian] generations who will tread the same path.”
The Times of Israel, citing a report from Channel 10, said that the shooter’s own relatives turned him in after he broke into their home while in disguise. The report said they had hoped they could pressure the terrorist to turn himself in.
The dramatic turn of events concluded a week-long manhunt for the shooter. Rosenfeld said on Twitter after the shooting that the police were reviewing footage of the shooting and searching buildings and apartments for the killer. Ultimately, the terrorist would be caught dozens of miles away in the northern Israeli Arab town of Ar’ara.
President Reuven Rivlin joined Netanyahu in praising the security forces for catching their man. “I wish to express my support for the members of the security services who worked night and day over the last week – even more so than normal,” Rivlin said in comments released by his office.
“We will not bow our heads in the face of the depraved terror we are facing in this difficult period. We will continue to choose life, even when in pain, even when the price we pay is heavy and so very difficult.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, January 10, 2016)