Two Israeli men killed in Palestinian stabbing attack in Jerusalem

Marcy Oster
Published October 3, 2015

A Jewish man carrying a baby injured in a stabbing attack in the Old City of Jerusalem on October 3, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A Jewish man carrying a baby injured in a stabbing attack in the Old City of Jerusalem on October 3, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two Israeli men were killed and an Israeli woman and her two-year-old son injured in a stabbing attack in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The attack took place on Saturday night, during the Jewish festival of Sukkot.

The Palestinian assailant, 19, from the al-Bireh village near Ramallah in the West Bank, reportedly took a gun from one of the stabbed men and began shooting at Israeli security forces, who were alerted to the attack by the injured woman. The assailant was shot and killed by Israeli security forces.

Aharon Bennett, 21, left, and Nehemia Lavi, 41, right, were killed in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem on October 3, 2015. (Courtesy)

Aharon Bennett, 21, left, and Nehemia Lavi, 41, right, were killed in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem on October 3, 2015. (Courtesy)

The Islamic Jihad terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that the attacker, identified as Mohannad Hallabi, a law student at Al-Quds University, was a member of its movement. Hallabi posted a message on his Facebook page on Friday saying that the third intifada has begun.

The Fatah movement, which is led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, tweeted an image of the message.

Hamas applauded what it called the “heroic operation” in a statement, saying, “We support and welcome any resistance activity that harms Israeli soldiers and settlers. Our people in the West Bank are ready to die, to sacrifice themselve to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Muhannad Shafeq Halabi, 19, was identified as the assailant who killed two Israeli men in their 40s on October 3, 2015 in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City. (Israel Police)

Muhannad Shafeq Halabi, 19, was identified as the assailant who killed two Israeli men in their 40s on October 3, 2015 in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City. (Israel Police)

One of the dead men, identified as Aharon Benita, 22, was the husband of the injured woman and baby, who were evacuated to Jerusalem hospitals where they each underwent surgery. The second victim was Rabbi Nechamia Lavi, 41, a rabbi at the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva in the Old City and a father of 7. They were walking to the Western Wall through the Lion’s Gate when they were attacked.

The attack comes two days after an Israeli couple was shot dead by Palestinian assailants while driving in a car in the West Bank with their four young children, who  survived the attack.

The Israel Police said it would continue to operate additional security patrols throughout Jerusalem, with an emphasis on the Old City where there has been an increase in violence centered on the Temple Mount in recent weeks.

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union blamed the attack on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Netanyahu lost control over the security of Israeli citizens and Jerusalem. His government is showing weakness and a total failure in security and the national mission of protecting Jerusalem’s security, ” he said in a statement posted on Facebook .

Security does not come from speeches, he added, alluding to Netanyahu’s speech Thursday before the United Nations General Assembly.

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