An Israeli Police spokesperson confirmed that the Haifa terrorist came from the northern city of Shfar’am while media reports identified him as a 20-year-old Israeli Druze named Yitro Shahin. He also had German citizenship, which is where he reportedly lived.
Shahin had only been in Israel for somewhere between a month and a year, after living permanently overseas in Germany. It is highly unusual (if ever) that a Druze has been involved in a terror attack.
Members of the Druze community denounced the attack and renounced Shahin as an Israeli and as a Druze. They instructed that he is not to be buried in Shfar’am, and that no one in the community is to attend his funeral. They also demand an investigation if he underwent Islamification in Germany.
Reports indicate that three of the four victims were Arab.
One of the security guards who eliminated the terrorist was also Druze.
A 70-year-old man, Hassan Karim Dhamsheh from Kafr Kana, was killed and four injured in a stabbing attack at a Haifa mall and transportation center. The terrorist was killed by a civilian security guard at the scene.
Germany’s ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, condemned the attack, tweeting, “Yet another horrible, cowardly terrorist attack, this time in Haifa. My thoughts are with the family of the murdered man and with the other victims who, I hope, will fully recover. People on both sides must stand against such indefensible crimes.”
Sheikh Mwafaq Tarif, head of the Druze community released a statement [translated]:
“We strongly condemn the attack that occurred this morning and offer my condolences to the family of the murdered man, and my best wishes for a speedy recovery for the injured.
Before drawing conclusions, it is important to wait for the facts to be clarified in depth and for the investigation to be completed by the security forces: the background, origin, circumstances, and the severe mental illness from which he suffered.
The Druze community is fighting terrorism everywhere, and the citizens who were involved in the neutralization were also members of the Druze community.”
Content from TPS was used in this report.
