A Palestinian man from Gaza killed by a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket on May 13 while he was working in Israel has been recognized by the state as a victim of terrorism.
The Israeli Defense Ministry and National Insurance Institute on Sunday approved the measure, which entitles the family of Abdullah Abu Jaba, 34, to state benefits. Abu Jaba was killed by shrapnel from a rocket that hit an agricultural site near the town of Shokeda in the western Negev.
Abu Jaba’s brother Hamad Abu Jaba, 39, was seriously wounded in the attack, and a 39-year-old Israeli Bedouin who was guarding the site was moderately wounded.
According to Israeli media reports, there was no bomb shelter nearby and they were working at the site in violation of the Home Front Command directives for communities close to the Gaza border during the five days of fighting that saw nearly 1,500 rockets fired at Israeli territory.
“Operation Shield and Arrow” against PIJ terrorists in the Strip ended on Saturday night with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire, although terrorists fired sporadic rockets for a few hours after the ceasefire was supposed to have taken hold. One rocket was fired at Ashkelon as late as Sunday evening, in response to which Israel struck a Hamas post in Gaza. According to Palestinian terror groups, the launch was the result of a technical malfunction.
Abdullah Abu Jaba was reportedly married with six children. His widow and children will now qualify for financial assistance under Israel’s compensation law for victims of hostile actions.
His was the second civilian death in Israel caused by the PIJ rockets launched at Israel in recent days. An 80-year-old woman was killed on Thursday when a rocket smashed into the living room of her apartment in the central city of Rehovot.
According to a report in Channel 12, Iran promised Islamic Jihad a payment of $5 million for every day of fighting against Israel.
