Tel Aviv terrorist ‘raised suspicions,’ was detained at airport

The Shin Bet said it had questioned Kaddi but found “no information that established grounds to prevent his entry into Israel.”

By World Israel News Staff

A Moroccan national who wounded four Israelis in a stabbing attack in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening had been detained and interrogated upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport but was ultimately allowed to enter Israel.

According to Hebrew-language media reports, Abdelaziz Kaddi, who held Moroccan citizenship and was a permanent resident of the Untied States, was flagged by security at the airport and taken aside for questioning.

Interior Minister Moshe Arbel said in a media statement that Kaddi had raised suspicions among Border Control officers, who detained and interrogated him.

Arbel said that the officers did not want to grant Kaddi permission to enter the country and transferred him to the Shin Bet security agency for additional questioning.

However, Arbel charged, the Shin Bet overruled the airport staff’s decision and granted Kaddi a tourist visa and entry into the country.

He urged Shin Bet head Ronen Bar to “investigate this serious incident and draw lessons from it as soon as possible.”

In a statement, the Shin Bet said it had questioned Kaddi but found “no information that established grounds to prevent his entry into Israel for security reasons.”

Kaddi carried out his attack in the Nachalat Binyamin neighborhood in Tel Aviv, stabbing four civilian men before being shot dead by an off-duty female Border Police officer.

While Israeli officials are confident that Kaddi acted alone once in Israel, it’s unclear if he received help in planning the attack.

As of Wednesday morning, two of the victims, aged 24 and 28, were in moderate condition. Two other victims, 24 and 59, were listed as being in good condition.

On Saturday, a Palestinian terrorist from Tulkarem stabbed an Israeli man in Tel Aviv. The victim is in stable condition.

The 19-year-old perpetrator, who was illegally residing in Israel, attempted to stab additional people and was shot dead by an armed civilian.