Palestinian Stabber Had Permit to Look for Work in Israel, Shin Bet Says

TEL AVIV – The Palestinian terrorist who stabbed an Israeli to death in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday had entered Israel legally using a termporary permit that allowed him to look for employment, the Shin Bet security service said.

Adiel Coleman, a father of four from the West Bank settlement of Kohav Hashahar, sustained critical wounds after being stabbed multiple times in his upper body. He was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Medical Center and operated on but succumbed to his injuries hours later.

The terrorist, Abd al-Rahman Bani Fadel, 28, a father of two from the Palestinian village of Aqraba, near the West Bank city of Nablus, was shot and killed by police as he attempted to flee the scene.

Before he chose his victim, he chatted to a number of vendors in the Old City’s Muslim Quarter, the Shin Bet said.

Fadel’s five-day permit, which began on Sunday, allowed him to enter Jerusalem in order to look for work, the Shin Bet said.

“I praise the police officer who reacted swiftly and killed the terrorist and prevented further injuries,” said Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan in a tweet. “The Israel Police will continue to take action against despicable terrorists who are incited [to violence] by the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem and throughout the country.”

IDF forces raiding the terrorist’s home (Video: IDF Spokesman’s Office)

Commander of the Old City of Jerusalem David Shmueli later said that security forces were still trying to work out how the terrorist carried out the attack. “We are still looking into how he got here and where he entered from. We are assessing all the possibilities in order to understand what happened here after a long period of comparative quiet in Jerusalem,” he said.

Shmueli added that security would be bolstered in the area over Passover, when many Jewish pilgrims visit the holy sites there.

“The only answer to it is a determined and uncompromising struggle against terror and against those who incite to terror and the continued development and building of the united Jerusalem. I ask all residents to continue their regular lives, to be alert and to inform security forces if necessary in order to thwart further attempted terror attacks.”

On Friday, two Israeli soldiers were killed and two others were critically wounded when a Palestinian terrorist rammed his car into them in the West Bank.

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