Girl, 13, stabbed to death in her bedroom by Palestinian assailant
Published June 30, 2016
Medics wheel Hallel Yaffa Ariel, 13, who was stabbed by a Palestinian attacker in the bedroom of her Kiryat Arba home, into the emergency room of the Shaare Zedek Medical Center on June 30, 2016. She died of multiple stab wounds. (Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A 13-year-old girl was killed after being stabbed several times by a Palestinian man who entered her bedroom and attacked in her bed.
Hillel Yaffa Ariel of the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba died of her wounds at a Jerusalem hospital where she reportedly arrived unconscious and not breathing on Thursday morning.
A civilian guard of the community located adjacent to Hebron was stabbed while struggling with the attacker. He also sustained gunshot wounds, with Israeli media reporting that he was accidentally shot by other civilian guards who arrived at the scene.
The attacker was shot and killed by the civilian guards.
A photo released by the Israel Defense Forces showed the bloodstained bed, pillows and rug in the teenager’s room.
13-yr-old girl wounded in stabbing attack has succumbed to her wounds. pic.twitter.com/H00mKr6XJp
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) June 30, 2016
The attacker was identified the as Muhammad Nasser Tarayrah, 17, from Bani Naim, adjacent to Kiryat Arba, the Palestinian Maan news agency reported.
The private home is located near the settlement’s fence. The attacker reportedly jumped over the fence to enter the settlement.
The breach set off an alarm and guards were already heading to the area when the attacker started stabbing the teen, according to reports.
Following the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman. The leaders decided to close off the village where the assailant lived, and to revoke work permits in Israel for members of his clan. They also set into motion the procedures necessary for securing approval to demolish his family home.
“The horrifying murder of a young girl in her bed underscores the bloodlust and inhumanity of the incitement-driven terrorists that we are facing. The entire nation deeply identifies with the family’s pain and declares to the murderers: You will not break us,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Netanyahu said he expected the Palestinian leadership to “clearly and unequivocally” condemn the attack and to take immediate action to stop the incitement.
