“We will bury him at Har Bracha, in the place he loved so much and aspired to develop,” terror victim Itamar Ben Gal’s widow stated.
By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News
The Israeli community of Har Bracha in Samaria settled into a state of mourning on Monday following the murder of Rabbi Itamar Ben Gal, a member of the community.
Ben Gal, a 29-year-old father of four young children, was stabbed to death by a terrorist on Monday as he waited for a ride near the city of Ariel, in Samaria.
The terrorist, an Arab with Israeli citizenship named Abed al-Karim Adel Rassi, from Jaffa, fled the scene.
The IDF stated Tuesday that it has made significant progress in the manhunt for the terrorist, but gave no further details.
Miriam Ben Gal, Itamar’s widow, stated that she had lost her husband “on the land of Israel,” and he was “murdered because he was a Jew.”
“I am here in my house – a house he will not return to. We will bury him at Har Bracha, in the place he loved so much and aspired to develop,” she stated.
Ben Gal was a high school teacher as well as an educator at the Har Bracha yeshiva. He was a well known figure in the community, and friends say that his death is a great loss.
The terrorist, 19, is known to Israel’s social services. He has lived at the Shanti House for runaway, homeless youth in Jaffa. He decided to leave the Shanti House and was offered other options, but turned them down.
His mother is an Israeli Arab from the north and his father a Palestinian from Shechem (Nablus). They both reportedly abandoned him some time ago.
At the start of a Likud party meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel “will bring them to justice,” referring to the terrorist and any possible accomplices.
Samaria Council Head Yossi Dagan called on Netanyahu to announce the establishment of a new community in Samaria in response to the attack.
UN should unequivocally condemn attack
Israel’s Ambassador Danny Danon called on United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to “unequivocally” condemn the attack instead of giving Abbas a platform for “lies and hate.”
Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas is slated to address the UNSC later this month.
“The Palestinian leadership must be held accountable for today’s horrific murder in Israel. This terror attack is the direct result of incitement and payments to terrorists by the Palestinian Authority,” Danon said.
“Instead of inviting Mahmoud Abbas to address the Security Council to disseminate lies and hate, the Council should unequivocally condemn this attack and demand that he stop paying stipends to terrorists,” he concluded.