PM visits victims of Tel Aviv terror attack, vows to pursue terrorists ‘everywhere’
Following a visit Saturday evening to speak with hospitalized victims of Thursday’s deadly terror shooting in Tel Aviv and their families, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said security forces will continue to “pursue the terrorists everywhere, day and night.”
“I have just finished visiting the wounded at Ichilov hospital, they are lively and with a very strong spirit,” Bennett said.
The terror attack Thursday on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv killed three people and wounded at least 10 others, breaking a tense calm that had set in since March 28, when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak, killing five people.
The terrorist who carried out the shooting attack Thursday was shot dead after being discovered by security forces early Friday following a massive manhunt overnight.
Bennett said Saturday that Israel was “moving from defense to offense, and attacking the sources of terrorism, at any time, anywhere, at night, during the day, in the morning, in the evening, and wherever they are.”
“As I said, there will be no restrictions on the security forces, on the IDF, the Shin Bet, and the Israel Police. We will continue to pursue the terrorists everywhere,” he said.
Earlier Saturday, Israeli security forces raided the West Bank home of the terrorist who carried out the attack in Tel Aviv, coming under fire by Palestinian gunmen in the city of Jenin and other nearby villages.
In footage posted online, heavy gunfire was heard in the area. The IDF said there were no Israeli casualties.
According to reports, the military sought to arrest the father of 29-year-old Ra’ad Hazem, the terrorist who killed three Israeli when he opened fire at the Ilka bar on Thursday evening, but he was not home at the time of the operation.
Hazem’s father, Fathi, is a former security prisoner who previously served as an officer in the Palestinian Authority’s security services in Jenin. He has refused an Israeli request to be questioned.
On Friday, Fathi praised his son’s actions to a crowd gathered in front of the family home. “Your eyes will see the victory soon. You will see the change. You will achieve your freedom… God, liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the desecration of the occupiers,” Fathi said, according to footage.
Hazem went on the run after Thursday’s attack and was found hiding near a mosque in Jaffa after an hours-long manhunt involving hundreds of security officers. While initially raising his hands in surrender, Hazem reportedly then drew a gun and opened fire on the officers, who fired back and killed him.
According to Palestinian reports, the troops in Jenin on Saturday gathered evidence from the Hazem family home and questioned other relatives at the scene.
The reports said that relatives of Hazem are suspected of assisting him in preparations for the attack as well as helping him carry it out.
The Shin Bet security agency has said Hazem had “no clear organizational affiliation, no security background and no previous arrests.”
In addition to the searches, the Hazem family home was mapped out by troops ahead of a potential demolition.
The funerals for two of Thursday’s fatalities, Tomer Morad and Eytam Magini, childhood friends both aged 27, were set to take place Sunday afternoon at Kfar Saba’s Pardes Haim cemetery. The funeral for Barak Lufan, a 35-year-old father of three who was critically wounded in the attack and later died of his wounds, was set to take place in his hometown of Kibbutz Ginosar, with a date and time to be determined.