Three Arab Israelis arrested in connection with deadly terror attack

The slain victim was a father of three from Tzur Natan who served in the IDF’s Ephraim Regional Brigade as a regional defense soldier and was a member of the community’s civil defense squad.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli prosecutors are set to charge three Arab Israeli men accused of helping the gunman who killed an Israeli reservist and wounded five other people in a shooting spree in central Israel last month, police and the Shin Bet security agency said Thursday.

The attack was carried out on June 7 by Omar Mundar Yassin, an Israeli Arab from Tayibe, who opened fire at several locations near Kochav Ya’ir, Tzur Yitzhak and Tzur Natan before he was shot dead by security forces.

The slain victim was Master Sgt. (res.) Haim Kalomiti, 55, a father of three from Tzur Natan who served in the IDF’s Ephraim Regional Brigade as a regional defense soldier and was a member of the community’s civil defense squad.

According to police and the Shin Bet, the three suspects were arrested after the attack on suspicion of assisting Yassin.

Authorities said Muhammad Aftima, a resident of Baqa al-Gharbiya, supplied Yassin with the makeshift “Carlo” submachine gun used in the shooting.

Two other suspects, identified as Alaa al-Din Jaheim and Weam Masarwa of Tayibe, allegedly knew Yassin intended to carry out an attack but did not act to prevent it, authorities said.

Police and the Shin Bet said indictments against the three were expected to be filed Thursday.

The agencies said they “gravely view any involvement of Israeli citizens in activities that endanger the security of the state and the public,” and vowed to “continue to take all measures to thwart any threat.”

The June 7 attack began when Yassin drove from Tayibe in a vehicle with Israeli license plates that authorities said was on the road illegally. He was armed with a makeshift Carlo-style submachine gun.

He first opened fire on civilians at a gas station near Kochav Ya’ir, wounding two people. He then continued toward Tzur Yitzhak, where he fired at the community’s security post, wounding another person.

Yassin later drove toward the nearby settlement of Sal’it, in the seam zone near the West Bank security barrier, and opened fire at the entrance before fleeing after the local security chief returned fire. No injuries were reported in that incident.

Police caught up with Yassin near a quarry on the outskirts of Tayibe and shot him dead. Security forces recovered the weapon and vehicle used in the attack.

Reuters reported at the time that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the shooting, saying: “This morning, a heinous terrorist went out, reached Kochav Yair, and unfortunately managed, before being eliminated, to murder an Israeli citizen and injure others.”

President Isaac Herzog said he was “shocked by the horrific terror attack,” offering condolences to Kalomiti’s family and prayers for the wounded.

Hamas praised the attack but did not claim responsibility.