The Halamish attack, or the Halamish massacre was a lone-wolf attack on a Jewish family in the
West Bank
The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
Israeli settlement
Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...
of
Halamish (also known as Neve Tzuf), that took place on 21 July 2017, in which three Israelis were stabbed to death and one severely wounded. The victims of the attack were Yosef Salomon, his daughter Chaya and son Elad, the three who were murdered in the attack, and Tova Salomon, Yosef's wife, who was injured but survived.
The assailant, Omar al-Abed, a Palestinian from nearby village, was shot by a neighbor and was arrested. Israel's
Channel 2 reported the day after the stabbings that the attacker "identified with Hamas" and had previously been arrested several times by Palestinian security forces.
Background
Following the
2017 Temple Mount shooting on the Friday the week before the attack, in which three Muslim Israelis attacked and killed two Druze policemen outside and inside the
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount (), also known as the Noble Sanctuary (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, 'Haram al-Sharif'), and sometimes as Jerusalem's holy esplanade, is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a ...
, Israeli authorities increased security measures in the area before the entrances of the Temple Mount. This included the installment of
metal detector
A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. A metal detector consists of a control box, an adjustable shaft, and ...
s.
Muslim leadership refused to accept the new measures, and called on their followers to protest the new measures and to pray in front of the Temple Mount, declaring that prayers of those who pass through the metal detectors were null and void. Three Muslims were killed in and around Jerusalem after ensuing riots.
Attack
On July 21, 2017, a Palestinian youth armed with a knife jumped over the security fence at Halamish and entered a house with an open door some from the fence, surprising members of the Solomon family who were preparing for a
Shalom Zachar celebration for the birth of a grandson. He stabbed to death the 70-year-old grandfather Yossi, his 46-year-old daughter Chaya, and 36-year-old Elad who were all pronounced dead at the scene. The 68-year-old grandmother, Tova, was stabbed and injured seriously as well before escaping upstairs. Elad's wife and three children who were downstairs escaped upstairs and barricaded themselves in a room with two infants.
An Israeli soldier home on leave responded, shooting the attacker through a window.
Assailant
The assailant was Omar al-Abed, aged 19, from
Kobar, a village near
Ramallah
Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...
.
[PALESTINIAN TERRORIST GETS 4 LIFE SENTENCES FOR SALOMON FAMILY MURDERS](_blank)
JPost, 15 February 2018[4 life sentences for terrorist who killed Salomon family of Halamish](_blank)
Times of Israel, 15 February 2018 Two hours before the attack, Omar Al-Abed al-Jalil had called for the defense of the
Masjid Al Aqsa on his
Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
page, writing: "Take your weapons and resist.... I only have a knife and it will answer the call of Al-Aqsa.... I know I am going and will not return."
Al-Jalil carried a
Quran
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
and a bottle of water to the attack, and is believed to have
ritually purified himself prior to entering the house and attacking.
Al-Abed was sentenced to 4 life sentences by the military court and damages of 2,5500,000 NIS ($724,634) to the victims. In their sentence, the judges wrote that "We also discussed the maximum sentence — the death penalty. Words cannot describe the extent of the atrocity committed by the defendant" and called for al-Abed "not to be released in any future deal". In a dissenting minority opinion, judge Dov Gilboa ruled in favor of the death penalty saying al-Abed "enjoyed the whole trial with a smile". The two other judges, Zvi Heilbronn and Menachem Lieberman, voted against the death penalty.
In May 2018, the Israeli Defense Ministry estimated that Al-Abed (who already received 12,200 NIS (US$3,370)), would receive 12,604,000 NIS (US$3.5 million) in payments from the Palestinian Authority by the time he reaches 80. The estimate was prepared in conjunction with Israel legislation which would allow for permanent deductions of transfers to the Palestinian Authority due to such payments, similar to the US
Taylor Force Act.
Aftermath
Several Israeli ministers have called for the death penalty to be called for by prosecution and applied.
Military courts, where the case would be tried, can sentence death however this has not been a final judgement (following appeal) since
Adolf Eichmann
Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ;"Eichmann"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 19 March 1906 – 1 Ju ...
in 1962. The Israeli prime minister subsequently joined the calls for the death penalty.
Speaking before the
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
on 24 July 2017, Israeli ambassador
Danny Danon presented photographs of the Halamish attack and said "The terrorist who murdered this family did so knowing that the Palestinian Authority will pay him thousands of dollars a month". In a media event prior to the security council meeting on the subsequent day, 27 July, Danon together with Oran Almog, one of the victims of the
Maxim restaurant suicide bombing, described the attack as caused by incitement, and demanded that the Palestinian Authority cease what it called incentivizing terrorism by paying
stipends to the families of Palestinians killed, injured or imprisoned for involvement in attacking, assisting in attacking, or planning to attack Israel, or for other types of politically-inspired violence, including riots, violent demonstrations, and throwing rocks.
According to
Jonathan Schanzer
Jonathan Schanzer is an American author and senior vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). He oversees the work of the organization's experts and scholars.
Early life and education
Schanzer graduated fro ...
, Omar Al-Abed's family would receive a salary of over $3,000 per month for his more than 30-year expected prison term, as the Palestinian Authority pays jailed attackers according to a sliding scale that rewards those imprisoned the longest.
After the mother of the alleged perpetrator publicly supported the actions of her son in Palestinian media, she was arrested by Israeli forces on 25 July 2017.
On 27 July, The IDF announced its intention to demolish the home of Omar al-Abed, the attacker who carried out the stabbing attack in Halamish a week earlier.
Five family members of the perpetrator were tried for
misprision of felony
Misprision of felony is a form of misprision, and an offence under the common law of England that is no longer active in many common law countries. Where it was or is active, it is classified as a misdemeanor. It consists of failing to report k ...
, due to their suspected knowledge of the perpetrator's intent and lack of reporting of said intent to Palestinian or Israeli authorities, allegedly having read the perpetrator's Facebook post a few hours prior to the attack.
Convicted by the military court, his two brothers and uncle received an eight-month sentence, his father 2 months, and his mother who was also convicted for incitement one month.
The assailant's house in Kobar was demolished on the night of 16 August 2017. Palestinians clashed with IDF forces during the demolition.
On the night of 29 August 2017, a recording studio was raided and three members of a Palestinian band from
Beit Rima and nearby
Kafr Ein were arrested for allegedly producing a song that lauded the attack. Singing that "real men" will be found in Kobar, and that the assailant "made the Zionists lie on the ground".
Following a stabbing attack at
Geva Binyamin
Geva Binyamin (), also known as Adam (), is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, built over land expropriated from the Palestinian village of Jaba'. It is organised as a community settlement and falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin ...
(Adam) by a Palestinian resident of Kobar in July 2018, Israeli authorities investigated similarities between the two attacks.
The survivor of the stabbing attack, wrote a page about the soldier on leave whom she described as a "quiet and modest hero", in the ''Our Heroes'' book marking Israel's 70 years of independence.
Reactions
* :
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
condemned the attack and expressed deep sorrow in his statement: "This is an act of terror perpetrated by a beastly person, based in unfathomable hatred. The security forces are doing everything in their power to maintain security, and will use all the necessary means to do this."
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Reuven Rivlin expressed his sympathies to the grieving family and to all of the residents of
Halamish, "It is the duty of the entire world, the duty of leadership wherever they are in the region and the world, to denounce the terrorism and incitement and to cooperate with the State of Israel in the war against it. Anyone who does not denounce terrorism collaborates with it."
*
Hamas
The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
issued a statement calling the attack a "necessary reaction" to the new Israeli security measures at the Temple Mount. Additionally, in a tweet, they called it "heroic."
* :
UN Secretary-General
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...
António Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...
strongly condemned the stabbing attack, he conveyed his condolences to the bereaved and wished a speedy recovery to those injured and called on all to refrain from any actions or words that could further escalate an already volatile situation.
* Secretary General of the Jordanian Opposition Coalition
Mudar Zahran condemned the attack on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
: "We condemn yesterday's horrifying crime in Halamish. It's against Arab values to attack families and children, Jews or non-Jews, it's a shame".
See also
*
List of terrorist incidents in July 2017
*
List of violent incidents in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, July–December 2017
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halamish stabbing attack, 2017
21st-century mass murder in Palestine
2017 murders in Asia
Islamic terrorist incidents in 2017
July 2017 crimes in Asia
Mass stabbings in Palestine
Palestinian political violence
Stabbing attacks in 2017
Terrorist incidents in the West Bank in 2017
Knife attacks in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
History of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council
Mass murder in 2017
2010s murders in Palestine