The father of the terrorist who carried out a deadly attack in Tel Aviv on Thursday greeted throngs of Palestinians who gathered at his home on Friday, telling them to keep fighting Israel and “victory will come soon.”

“In the coming days you will see the change. You will be free and independent. God, free the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the hands of the occupation,” Fathi Hazem said on Friday as thousands of people descended on his home.

Addressing his dead son, he said: “Many died in God’s path before you were even born. Years ago, they gave everything for God and for Palestine…now, we pass the flag to those after us,” said Fathi. “The sword of Mohammad is in your hands.”

Encouraging the young men around him, Hazem went on: “We grow old and weaken, we hand the banner to those after us, now the banner is in your hands, so do not drop it.”

A retired Colonel, Hazem served in the past as a senior official of the Palestinian Authority’s national security apparatus.

His son, Raad Hazem, killed three people and critically wounded 8 more in a shooting spree outside a bar in downtown Tel Aviv the night before.

Palestinians marched from the city of Jenin and nearby villages to the Hazem family home, chanting, “Allah’s victory is achieved in blood” and vowed that “the army of Mohammad” was coming to vanquish Israel and the Jews.

Hazem, who was in Israel illegally, had no criminal record. However, he hailed from a family of terrorists. His maternal uncle, ‘Uthman Saadi, was assassinated while plotting against Israeli army troops in Lebanon. Another maternal uncle, Muhammad Saadi, was a terror operative in the First Intifada in the 1980s.

Palestinian terror organizations hailed Hazem as “a lion … who defended Palestine.”
 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a rare condemnation of the attack, his second in a week. His statement, however, made sure to mention both Palestinian and Israeli victims. This is in line with his government’s practice of mourning terrorists.

Members of the Islamic Jihad militant group take part in a rally alongside Hamas supporters after Friday prayers in Khan Yunis The Southern Gaza Strip, on April 8, 2022, to express support of the Al-Aqsa mosque, the Tel Aviv attacker, and three Islamic Jihad militants killed by Israeli security forces days ago when they came under fire during a raid in the West Bank. (SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

 “We condemn the killing of Israeli civilians in the shooting attack in central Tel Aviv, and emphasize that the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians only leads to a further deterioration of the situation, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.”
 He also used the condemnation to warn Israel against “exploiting the incident to attack the Palestinian people through settlers and others.”
Thursday’s attack was the fourth one in two weeks, bringing the death toll to 14. The deadliest occurred in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak, claiming five lives. Palestinians in multiple cities also came out in droves to celebrate that attack, handing out sweets to passersby.