Palestinian freed in Shalit swap charged in Passover murder
Published June 23, 2014
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two Palestinians were charged in connection with the Passover shooting attack that killed a senior Israeli police chief, including one who was released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange.
The men were arrested last month according to a gag order lifted on Monday, the same day that the men were charged.
On Passover eve, April 14, terrorists fired bullets at civilian vehicles travelling near Hebron. The attacks killed Police Chief Superintendent Baruch Mizrachi, critically injuring his wife and wounding a child traveling in a second car. The shooters fled the scene.
The two Palestinian suspects, a father and son, were arrested on May 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Ziad Awad, 42, from Idhna village, is a Hamas operative who was jailed in the past for the murder of Palestinians who were believed to be cooperating with Israeli security forces and who was released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. His son, , Az Al-Adin Hasan Awad, 18, who admitted under questioning that his father had shared with him his intentions to execute a terror attack against Israelis on Passover.
Ziad Awad told his son, according to the IDF, that that “according to the Islamic religion, those who kill Jews go to heaven.” The son led police to the weapon used in the attack.
Israel’s Cabinet ruled that the suspected terrorist’s home will be demolished, if it is approved by Israel’s Supreme Court.