Fatal Terror Attack in Har Adar
Arab Terrorist Shoots Dead 3 Israelis and Seriously Injures 1
September 27, 2017
Written by Esther Lehman
This morning in Israel we wake up to yet another tragic breaking news of an attack in Har Adar by an Arab terrorist. This time the attack was committed by Nimr Mahmoud Ahmed Jamal, a 37-year-old Palestinian Arab from the nearby village of Bayt Surik.
What started off as a regular work day of Arabs coming into the Israeli town of Har Adar for employment, ended in terror. Arab workers were waiting in line for their routine morning security check just like they do every day. They understand that Israelis must take their security seriously, even though there has been a lull in terror attacks. There have been too many times that we have be caught by surprise, and now it being the High Holidays Season we are on a greater security alert.
The terrorist, Identified as Nimr Mahmoud Ahmad Jamal, entered the Israeli town of Har Adar via the rear entrance. He aroused the suspicion of the security officers on the scene who halted him, Nimr then took a pistol out of his shirt and opened fire on the Israeli officers.
He killed a Border Police officer and two private security guards, one was Youseff Ottman from the Arab Israeli community of Abu Ghosh. The second security guard was identified as Or Arish, a resident of Har Adar. The Border Police Officer was identified as Solomon Gavriyah, from Be’er Yaakov. He was posthumously promoted to staff sergeant in recognition of his bravery. All the Officers were in their early 20s and they all sustained gunshot wounds to the upper body.
The seriously injured victim was identified as Har Adar’s security coordinator. He suffered gunshot wounds to the stomach and chest, and was fully conscious when he was taken to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem. He was taken in for surgery, a Hadassah spokesperson said.
After the deadly gunfire exchange, Israeli officers shot the terrorist dead and his two brothers were taken in for questioning. The attacker’s home village is located about a kilometer away from Har Adar, and has been placed under a military closure.
One of the first responders on the scene was Moshir Abu Katish, a Muslim volunteer EMT with United Hatzalah, who lives in the neighboring Arab-Israeli town of Abu Gosh.
“I raced over to the scene, which took place near the fence of Har Adar. Security forces had shot and killed the terrorist who had carried out a shooting attack against a group of Israelis,” Abu Katish said. “I ran to treat the injured people who were suffering from gunshot wounds to their upper bodies. Unfortunately, the three more seriously injured people in the attack were pronounced dead at the scene. We treated
a fourth person who was injured at the scene before he was transported to the hospital for further treatment and observation.”
On the other hand, Hamas terror groups praised the attack, saying:
“Once again Jerusalem proves that it is at the heart of the conflict with the occupation, and that there is no way to get it out of the equation of the conflict.”
Trust or Don’t Trust
The disturbing facts about these terrorists is that they are most likely regular workers, and are known and trusted by their employers. It is important to understand that most Arabs heavily rely on Israeli employment, without which they cannot support their families. There are almost no job opportunities in their own communities, so they turn to Israel for work. The types of work they are hired for are mainly building projects all over Israel.
Many Arabs work in fast food chains, factories, garages, gas stations, bakeries and more. Arabs have developed for themselves many lucrative job opportunities in the Israeli workforce, including achieving high positions such as officers in the Police Force, Security Officers and managers of Israeli owned businesses.
People like Har Adar Resident Drora Bardizchev, hired Arab workers and in fact she employed Jamal in her home. Drora said in an interview to Channel 10 News that she was shocked by the attack. She said she had enjoyed a very good relationship with him, often spending time alone with him in the house and drinking coffee together during breaks.
Police said the terrorist Nimr, had a legal work permit, making him one of the few Palestinians with such a document to commit a terror attack. His permit was of a lower level and was only applicable for work inside Israeli towns and cities, like Har Adar, which are along the “seam line” between the West Bank and Israel. Nimr did not have a known history of involvement in terrorist activities.
Israelis take a serious risk when hiring Arab workers, even though we know that we cannot trust them 100%. We have seen too many incidences of long term “loyal” workers suddenly turn on the very person who trusted them and provided them with income over many years. As we see from what Drora said, she was alone with Nimr on many occasions. It is terrifying to think that he could have murdered her at any time, did he think about it? Would he have killed her if she were around him on that fateful day?
As we can see from this report, there were two Muslim Arabs who were at the scene of the attack and protected Israeli citizens. Moshir Abu Katish, the EMT Volunteer with the Israeli Hatzalah Organization and Youseff Ottman, an Israeli Security Officer. These Arab men put their lives on the line, and one of them even lost his life for Israel.
Responding to questions about the rarity of attacks from Palestinians with work permits, Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich said, “To my regret there is no profile for a terrorist.”
The Israeli government rightly blames Arab terrorism and violence on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders, compounded on social media sites that glorify violence and encourage attacks.
The steps towards peace can only be combatted by the man on the streets. When left to governments or political groups it can never happen. We continue to hire Arab workers and hopefully in time the people will make a historical break through.