The group is named after a terrorist who murdered a 19-year-old soldier and a father of 12.

By World Israel News Staff

The establishment of a new Palestinian terror group based in the city of Salfit in Samaria was announced Sunday evening, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The group, named Battalion of Martyr Omar Abu Laila, after a terrorist who murdered IDF Sgt. Gal Keidan, 19, and Rabbi Achiad Ettinger in March 2019, said in a statement that its “soldiers were preparing many surprises that would shake the brutal [Israeli] entity,” the report said.

“Torment is coming to you,” the group warned Israelis. “The Battalion will stay and expand in Salfit and its [surrounding] villages.”

The Battalion is among several small terror groups consisting of dozens of terrorists operating in cities in northern Samaria known as hotbeds of terror, such as Jenin and Nablus (Shechem), as well as in other Palestinian-administered areas, including Bethlehem and Hebron in Judea. Members hail from various factions, including Fatah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, according to the Post.

Abu Laila stabbed Keidan to death at the Ariel Junction in Samaria, stole his weapon and then opened fire on passing cars. He shot Rabbi Ettinger, a father of 12, who died the following day of his wounds.

Following a manhunt, Abu Laila was killed in a shootout with Israeli soldiers.

The Palestinian Authority honored Abu Laila months after he carried out the deadly attack, naming a street, a square and a mosque after him, Palestinian Media Watch reported at the time. The PA has also referred to Abu Laila as “more honorable than [the rest] of us,” deeming him a “perfect human being.”

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After Hamas accused the Palestinian Authority of calling Sunday’s deadly terror attack on several Israelis “criminal,” the spokesman for PA security forces disavowed the alleged condemnation.

By World Israel News Staff

In an apparent attempt to portray the Palestinian Authority (PA) as opposing terror attacks on Israelis, a pro-Hamas website called Palestine Now claimed that official PA spokesman Adnan Al-Damiri characterized as “criminal” the attack launched on Sunday in Ariel that claimed the lives of two Israelis.

The attack in question was perpetrated by Amar Abu Leilah, 20, from the Arab village of Zevayah near Ariel, who stabbed and shot IDF soldier Gal Keidan and then fired on father of 12 Rabbi Ahiad Ettinger, who drew his weapon and was prepared to fire at Leilah. Both men succumbed to their injuries.

In response to the attack, Palestine Now declared, “The Palestinian resistance factions welcomed the operation, described it as ‘heroic,’ and called to escalate the confrontation with the Israeli occupation, while Official Spokesman of the PA Security Forces . . . Adnan Al-Damiri described the operation as ‘criminal,'” reported Arabic-language media watchdog Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).

In response, Al-Damiri denied making the statement, referring to the Palestine Now report as “lies and falsehoods attributed to [him],” claiming that the statements were “an attempt to distract from the Hamas Movement’s actions against the citizens in the Gaza districts, in light of the peaceful We Want to Live protest,” reported Palestinian news outlet Ma’an.

Meanwhile, the PA claimed that prior to committing the attack  Leilah had posted to Facebook, “Your head is held high, our [PA] President [Mahmoud] Abbas, we have sworn allegiance to you before Allah and before all of the people,” PMW reported.

Following the attack, Gaza residents distributed sweets to celebrate the murders with a sign reading, “Hamas welcomes the heroic operation.”

As of Monday evening, the IDF’s massive manhunt continued in search of Leilah, who remains at large.

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