Israelis Bound And Murdered In Terrorist Shooting Near Ariel

A terrorist went on a shooting rampage at a factory in the Barkan industrial zone near Ariel in Samaria early Sunday (7th), killing two Israelis and seriously injuring a third.

Carrying an automatic rifle, the terrorist entered the factory at 7:40 am and went up to a second floor office, where he tied up a male and female employee and shot them at close range.

The two were identified as 28-year-old Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel of Rosh Ha’ayin, the mother of a baby boy, and 35-year-old Ziv Hajbi from Rishon Letzion, a father of three.  Both were critically wounded and died shortly afterward.

A third victim, a 54-year-old woman, is being treated in Beilinson hospital for body wounds and is said to be in stable condition.

The suspect, identified as Ashraf Walid Suleiman Na’alowa, a 23-year-old Palestinian man from Shuweika, a village north of Tulkarem – fled the scene.

Members of Na’alowa’s family have been arrested and are being interrogated by the Shin Bet security service to determine if they assisted him in the attack or in his escape from the scene, the army said.  Meanwhile IDF troops measured the terrorist’s home, ahead of eventual demolition.

“IDF and Shin Bet will continue to work to catch the terrorist and to preserve the security of the region’s residents, with increased operational and intelligence efforts,” the army said.  

(Israelhayom.com; timesofisrael.com; worldisraelnews.com)

 

Hamas, Islamic Jihad Praise Deadly Shooting In Northern West Bank

Hamas on Sunday morning (7th) praised a fatal shooting that took place earlier in the day in the West Bank, calling it “heroic” and “a natural response to Israeli occupation crimes.”

Two people were killed and a third was moderately wounded in the attack at the Barkan Industrial Park in the northern West Bank, which the IDF said was an act of terrorism.

“The Hamas movement and the Palestinian people everywhere praise the heroic operation near the Ariel settlement,” Hamas said in a statement.  “We applaud this heroic operation and affirm that it comes as a natural response to Israeli occupation crimes at the expense of the Palestinian people.”

Palestinian Islamic Jihad also spoke highly of the attack, according to Palestine Today.

“We praise this martyrdom operation and affirm that settlements are a legitimate target for resistance fighters and revolutionaries,” Islamic Jihad said in a statement.  “We call on our proud people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and elsewhere to rise up in the face of settlement terrorism until the West Bank is liberated from settlements and settlers.”

Hamas was seen giving out candies and sweets to its people to celebrate the Sunday morning (7th) attack.

(israeltoday.co.il; timesofisrael.com)

 

Netanyahu And Rivlin Address Terror Attack

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin condemned the terror attack Sunday morning (7th ) at the Barkan Industrial Park in Samaria.

“I am shocked and saddened by this morning’s terrible terrorist attack at the Barkan Industrial area.  Our hearts are with the families of those who were killed, and our prayers are with those who were injured.  This was not only an attack on innocent people going about their daily lives, it was also an attack on the possibility of Israelis and Palestinians coexisting peacefully.  I call on the Palestinian leadership to condemn this murderous attack and to use the forces at their disposal to capture the terrorist and those who aided him.”

“Our thanks to the medics who gave quick and life-saving assistance, and to the IDF and security forces who are ensuring the perpetrators are apprehended.  We will not rest until everyone of them is brought to justice,” Rivlin added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday (7th), addressed the deadly terror attack at the Barkan Industrial Park.

“I will open with this morning’s event in the Barkan Industrial Zone.  This was a very severe terrorist attack in which two Israelis were brutally murdered and another citizen was wounded.  The security forces are in pursuit of the reprehensible murderer. I am certain they will apprehend him and I am also certain that we will deal with him to the fullest extent of the law and quickly,” he said.

“I want to send, in my name and the name of all cabinet ministers, condolences to the families of the two murdered victims, and of course our hopes and prayers for the speedy recovery of the wounded victim,” he added.

Funeral services for Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel, 28, from Rosh Ha’ayin were held Sunday night (7th) at 10 PM at the Rosh Ha’ayin cemetery.

Ziv Hajbi, 35, of Rishon Letzion will be laid to rest on Monday afternoon (8th) in Moshav Nir Yisrael.

(israelnn.com)

 

Top Iran Revolutionary Guard Warns Netanyahu He Will Have to ‘Flee Into The Sea”

TEHRAN – The deputy commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday (5th) to “practice swimming in the Mediterranean” because he would be forced to abandon his country.

“I tell the prime minister of the Zionist regime to practice swimming in the Mediterranean because soon you will have no choice, but to flee into the sea,” Brigadier-General Hossein Salami said according to the ultra-conservative news website Fars News.

Speaking at a rally of the volunteer Basij militia in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, Salami said Israel could be destroyed by Iran’s Lebanese ally Hizbullah.

“They are not at the level of being a threat to us – Hizbullah is enough to destroy them,” he said.

Iran has supplied the Lebanese terror group with tens of thousands of rockets and missiles.

His comments echo the repeated threats of Israel’s enemies to drive Israel into the sea and wipe out the Jewish state.

Iran does not recognize Israel, and opposition to the Jewish state has been a central tenet of its government since the 1979 revolution.

“In 25 years’ time, with the grace of God, no such thing as the Zionist regime will exist in the region,” said supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2015, which has become a frequently used  prediction among hardliners.

Tensions between Israel and Iran have also spiraled as Israel has vowed to prevent Iran  from establishing a permanent military presence in Syria and has carried out dozens of strikes against Iranian bases and attempts to supply advanced weapons to Hizbullah.

(timesofisrael.com; afp.com)

 

19 Swastikas Painted On Walls Of Virginia JCC

Some 19 swastikas were spray painted on the walls of a Jewish community center in Virginia.

The vandalism was discovered on Saturday morning (6th) at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia, in Fairfax.

“A surveillance video showed a man wearing dark clothes spraying-painting the building at about 4:30 am, Fairfax police told the Washington Post.

It is the second suspected hate crime against the Fairfax JCC in the last 18 months.  In April 2017, “Hitler was right,” swastikas and the SS symbol were found spray-painted on the exterior of the JCC building.  

Senator Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, said in a tweet (showing a photo of the vandalized JCC) that “an insidious rise in hateful actions and anti-Semitism is happening in Virginia and across the country.  We must meet it with fierce condemnation and an over-abundance of love and unity. We cannot allow hate to fester.”

(jta.org; washingtonpost.com)