The gunman who opened fire near a crowded pub in Tel Aviv last Friday, killing two and later killing a cab driver during his escape, has been killed by police.
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Nashat Melhem was in hiding at the Wadi Ara mosque in the northern Arab town of Arara when police tracked him down. Shortly afterward, a taxi driver was found shot dead in another part of town; his auto was found later.
Reflecting official uncertainty about the motive for the rare attack by an Arab Israeli, Netanyahu had in earlier public statements referred to the fugitive as a “murderer” rather than “terrorist”. The rest died in clashes with security forces.
Israeli soldiers or settlers since October 1 have shot and killed at least 149 Palestinians, including unarmed protesters, bystanders and alleged attackers. Several relatives and Mohammed Melhem are detained in relation to the case.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement congratulated the security forces, who he said had “worked tirelessly, methodically and professionally to locate and eliminate the terrorist”.
Nashat Melhem was shot dead Friday afternoon in a shootout with police near his home in the Umm al-Fahm area. But the Tel Aviv shootings left many people jittery because Milhem, who was considered armed and risky, was on the loose for a week. Milhem had served a five-year jail term for attacking a soldier in 2006, which he said was to avenge a cousin’s killing by police during a raid.
According to Israel’s Channel 10 News, finding Milhem in the north would be more hard than in the West Bank, where the Shin Bet has many informants.
Speaking to the local Arab48 news site, however, residents disputed the Israeli police’s account of the incident and insisted that Milhem could have been arrested alive.
Tel Aviv – Israeli magazine TimeOut has posted a video of Jewish and Arab Israelis kissing in front of the camera in response to a controversial book rejected by the education ministry.
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Since Oct. 1, 22 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean were killed in Palestine from stabbings, vehicle ramming and gunfire targeting security forces and civilians.
